Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
10:50
Computational Modeling of Retinal Neurons for Visual Prosthesis Research - Fundamental Approaches
Published on: June 21, 2022
The uniqueness of the message in a retinal ganglion cell spike train and its implication for retinal prostheses
John B Troy1, Fernando M Yrazu, Christopher L Passaglia
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. j-troy@northwestern.edu
Abstract:
We sought to determine whether the messages conveyed in the spike trains of individual retinal ganglion cells are unique or whether, as has been reported for other neurons, they depend in some way on a neuron's state. Our data show convincingly that the messages are unique.
Related Concept Videos
01:32The Retina
The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
01:20Anatomy of the Eyeball
The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
01:24Vision
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.