Bistratified cell

Bistratified ganglion cell can refer to either of two kinds of retinal ganglion cells whose cell body is located in the ganglion cell layer of the retina, the small-field bistratified ganglion cell, also known as small bistratified cell (SBC), and the large-field bistratified ganglion cell or large bistratified cell (LBC).^[1][2]

Bistratified cells receive their input from bipolar cells and amacrine cells. The bistratified cells project their axons through the optic nerve and optic tract to the koniocellular layers in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), synapsing with koniocellular cells. Koniocellular means “cells as small as dust”; their small size made them hard to find. About 8 to 10% of retinal ganglion cells are bistratified cells. They receive inputs from intermediate numbers of rods and cones. They have moderate spatial resolution, moderate conduction velocity, and can respond to moderate-contrast stimuli. They may be involved in color vision. They have very large receptive fields that only have centers (no surrounds) and are always ON to the blue cone and OFF to both the red and green cone.

See also

• Parasol cell
• Midget cell
• Photosensitive ganglion cell

References

1. Daw, Nigel (19 January 2012). How Vision Works: The Physiological Mechanisms Behind What We See. Oxford University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-19-975161-7. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
2. Donkelaar, Hendrik Jan; Lammens, Martin; Hori, Akira (2014). Clinical Neuroembryology: Development and Developmental Disorders of the Human Central Nervous System. Springer. p. 450. ISBN 978-3-642-54687-7. Retrieved 12 January 2015.