Advancements that could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for diabetic retinopathy, a common complication that affects the eyes, have been identified by a multi-department research team from Michigan State and other ...
Sep 5, 2023
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Glaucoma and macular degeneration cause blindness in millions of people every year. Hundreds of genes have been implicated for increasing susceptibility to the diseases, and such genes are often starting points for therapies ...
Aug 28, 2023
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A St. Michael's retinal surgeon and researcher has developed a new, minimally-invasive technique to repair retinal detachment that requires no incisions and can be done in the ophthalmologist's office. It could lead to faster ...
Aug 25, 2023
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A team of medical scientists at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, working with a colleague from the Army Medical University and another from the Luzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital, has found ...
A new study suggests that eye drops developed by Columbia University researchers could be a more effective–and comfortable–therapy for a common eye disease currently treated with injections into the eye.
Jul 13, 2023
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The moment a pitcher unleashes a fastball in the direction of Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette in a professional baseball game, the crowd at Rogers Centre hopes something special is about to happen. But while they ...
Jun 27, 2023
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A Northwestern Medicine study has uncovered novel cellular mechanisms within the retina, findings that could help advance the development of targeted therapeutics for diseases and conditions impacting vision, according to ...
Jun 19, 2023
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The brain is one of the most metabolically active organs in the human body. Although it represents only about 2% of the human body's weight, it receives 15 to 20% of the body's total blood supply. Disrupted blood flow to ...
Jun 14, 2023
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The RPE and choroid, located behind the human retina, are fundamental to vision, playing a myriad of roles from light absorption to providing oxygenated blood to the photoreceptor cells. However, our understanding of the ...
Jun 1, 2023
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Women are more likely to experience recurrent cases of the Toxoplasma parasite, according to new Flinders University research.
Jun 1, 2023
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The vertebrate retina is a light sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical events that ultimately trigger nerve impulses. These are sent to various visual centers of the brain through the fibers of the optic nerve.
In vertebrate embryonic development, the retina and the optic nerve originate as outgrowths of the developing brain, so the retina is considered part of the central nervous system (CNS).. It is the only part of the CNS that can be imaged non-invasively in the living organism.
The retina is a complex, layered structure with several layers of neurons interconnected by synapses. The only neurons that are directly sensitive to light are the photoreceptor cells. These are mainly of two types: the rods and cones. Rods function mainly in dim light and provide black-and-white vision, while cones support daytime vision and the perception of colour. A third, much rarer type of photoreceptor, the photosensitive ganglion cell, is important for reflexive responses to bright daylight.
Neural signals from the rods and cones undergo complex processing by other neurons of the retina. The output takes the form of action potentials in retinal ganglion cells whose axons form the optic nerve. Several important features of visual perception can be traced to the retinal encoding and processing of light.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
