Optimized Signal Flow through Photoreceptors Supports the High-Acuity Vision of Primates

The fovea is a neural specialization that endows humans and other primates with the sharpest vision among mammals. This performance originates in the foveal cones, which are extremely narrow and long to form a high-resolution pixel array. Puzzlingly, this form is predicted to impede electrical conduction to an extent that appears incompatible with vision. We observe the opposite: signal flow through even the longest cones (0.4-mm axons) is essentially lossless. Unlike in most neurons, amplification and impulse generation by voltage-gated channels are dispensable. Rather, sparse channel activity preserves intracellular current, which flows as if unobstructed by organelles. Despite these optimizations, signaling would degrade if cones were lengthier. Because cellular packing requires that cone elongation accompanies foveal expansion, this degradation helps explain why the fovea is a constant, miniscule size despite multiplicative changes in eye size through evolution. These observations reveal how biophysical mechanisms tailor form-function relationships for primate behavioral performance.