Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.

The retinal output is the sole source of visual information for the brain. Studies in non-primate mammals estimate that this information is carried by several dozens of retinal ganglion cell types, each informing the brain about different aspects of a visual scene. Even though morphological studies...

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Main Authors: Katja Reinhard, Thomas A Münch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246952
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author Katja Reinhard
Thomas A Münch
author_facet Katja Reinhard
Thomas A Münch
author_sort Katja Reinhard
collection DOAJ
description The retinal output is the sole source of visual information for the brain. Studies in non-primate mammals estimate that this information is carried by several dozens of retinal ganglion cell types, each informing the brain about different aspects of a visual scene. Even though morphological studies of primate retina suggest a similar diversity of ganglion cell types, research has focused on the function of only a few cell types. In human retina, recordings from individual cells are anecdotal or focus on a small subset of identified types. Here, we present the first systematic ex-vivo recording of light responses from 342 ganglion cells in human retinas obtained from donors. We find a great variety in the human retinal output in terms of preferences for positive or negative contrast, spatio-temporal frequency encoding, contrast sensitivity, and speed tuning. Some human ganglion cells showed similar response behavior as known cell types in other primate retinas, while we also recorded light responses that have not been described previously. This first extensive description of the human retinal output should facilitate interpretation of primate data and comparison to other mammalian species, and it lays the basis for the use of ex-vivo human retina for in-vitro analysis of novel treatment approaches.
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spelling doaj.art-cffa784bb5124efdbf5398b10f212f292022-12-21T20:12:01ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01162e024695210.1371/journal.pone.0246952Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.Katja ReinhardThomas A MünchThe retinal output is the sole source of visual information for the brain. Studies in non-primate mammals estimate that this information is carried by several dozens of retinal ganglion cell types, each informing the brain about different aspects of a visual scene. Even though morphological studies of primate retina suggest a similar diversity of ganglion cell types, research has focused on the function of only a few cell types. In human retina, recordings from individual cells are anecdotal or focus on a small subset of identified types. Here, we present the first systematic ex-vivo recording of light responses from 342 ganglion cells in human retinas obtained from donors. We find a great variety in the human retinal output in terms of preferences for positive or negative contrast, spatio-temporal frequency encoding, contrast sensitivity, and speed tuning. Some human ganglion cells showed similar response behavior as known cell types in other primate retinas, while we also recorded light responses that have not been described previously. This first extensive description of the human retinal output should facilitate interpretation of primate data and comparison to other mammalian species, and it lays the basis for the use of ex-vivo human retina for in-vitro analysis of novel treatment approaches.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246952
spellingShingle Katja Reinhard
Thomas A Münch
Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.
PLoS ONE
title Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.
title_full Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.
title_fullStr Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.
title_full_unstemmed Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.
title_short Visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells.
title_sort visual properties of human retinal ganglion cells
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246952
work_keys_str_mv AT katjareinhard visualpropertiesofhumanretinalganglioncells
AT thomasamunch visualpropertiesofhumanretinalganglioncells