Retinal ganglion cell

A retinal neuron that integrates input from bipolar and amacrine cells and sends action potentials toward the brain through its axon in the optic nerve.

Amacrine cell: A retinal interneuron that shapes signaling between bipolar and ganglion cells, often through lateral inhibition. Amacrine cells modify ganglion-cell responses, especially their timing and motion sensitivity.
Retina: The light-sensitive neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Ganglion cells are the retina’s output neurons, positioned downstream of its local circuitry.
Midget ganglion cell: A primate retinal ganglion-cell type with small receptive fields, prominent in central vision and red-green opponency. Its dense sampling supports fine detail and much of primate red-green color signaling.
Bipolar cell: A retinal interneuron that relays signals from photoreceptors to retinal ganglion cells. Unlike ganglion cells, bipolar cells usually transmit graded potentials and do not form the optic nerve.
Action potential: A brief, regenerative electrical impulse that propagates along a neuron’s membrane. Ganglion cells encode retinal output as action potentials rather than graded photoreceptor potentials.
Photoreceptor cell: A rod or cone neuron that converts light into changes in electrical signaling. Photoreceptors initiate the signals that eventually reach ganglion cells.
Parasol ganglion cell: A primate retinal ganglion-cell type with large receptive fields and strong responses to luminance changes and motion. Its rapid, broad responses contribute to motion and coarse-contrast processing.
Optic chiasm: The junction where some optic-nerve fibers cross to the opposite side of the brain. Ganglion-cell axons reach this crossing after leaving the eye in the optic nerve.
Receptive field: A region of sensory space where stimulation changes a neuron’s activity. Ganglion-cell receptive fields reveal how retinal inputs combine across visual space.
Rod cell: A retinal photoreceptor specialized for dim-light vision and highly sensitive to light. Rod signals reach ganglion cells through retinal circuits adapted for low-light sensitivity.

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