Background light and the contrast gain of primate P and M retinal ganglion cells. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Retinal ganglion cells projecting to the monkey lateral geniculate nucleus fall into two classes: those projecting to the magnocellular layers of the nucleus (M cells) have a higher contrast gain to luminance patterns at photopic levels of retinal illumination than those projecting to the parvocellular layers (P cells). We report here that this difference in luminance contrast gain between M and P cells is maintained at low levels of mean retinal illumination. In fact, our results suggest that in the mesopic and scotopic ranges of mean illumination, the M-cell/magnocellular pathway is the predominant conveyor of information about spatial contrast to the visual cortex.

publication date

  • June 1, 1988

Research

keywords

  • Retina
  • Retinal Ganglion Cells

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC280465

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0005348559

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1073/pnas.85.12.4534

PubMed ID

  • 3380804

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 85

issue

  • 12