Overview

This volume is a collection of essays which attempts to summarize the recent progress in the field of photoreceptor and retinal physiology. Reflecting the way in which research is organized, each author reports on the studies performed with the techniques with which he is most familiar: morpholo- gical, chemical or physiological. The first chapters describe the structure of visual cells and the histological architecture of the retina. Next comes a summary of the laws governing photochemical reactions and a report on the biochemistry of photopigments. Four articles cover the optical properties of invertebrate eyes and the electrophysiology and the interactions of their photoreceptors. These are followed by a discussion of the properties of vertebrate eyes, including chapters on optics, on the electrical responses of rods and cones and on the functional organization of the retina. The final chapter provides an extensive review of retinal biochemistry and metabolism. Even though the experimental approach differs, all studies are directed toward the solution of two basic problems: transduction in the photoreceptors and orga- nization (often called ""information processing"") in the retina. The central problem of photoreceptor cells is to determine how light produces a response. We know that illumination evokes electrical changes and we have recently learned a great deal about the features of these changes. The evidence indicates however that elaborate processes must be interposed between the ab- sorption of photons by the pigment and the production of electric currents through the membrane. These intermediary cvents remain to be unraveled.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michelangelo G. F. Fuortes
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Volume:   7 / 2
Weight:   1.900kg
ISBN:  

9783540057437

ISBN 10:   3540057439
Pages:   776
Publication Date:   11 December 1972
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock  

Table of Contents

1 The Structural Organization of the Compound Eye in Insects.- 2 Rods and Cones.- 3 The Morphological Organization of the Vertebrate Retina.- 4 Interactions between Light and Matter.- 5 The Structure and Reactions of Visual Pigments.- 6 Generator Potentials in Invertebrate Photoreceptors.- 7 Responses to Single Photons.- 8 Interpretation of Generator Potentials.- 9 Optical Properties of the Compound Eye.- 10 Inhibitory Interaction in the Retina of Limulus.- 11 Optical Properties of Vertebrate Eyes.- 12 Light-Induced Potential and Resistance Changes in Vertebrate Photoreceptors.- 13 S-Potentials.- 14 Receptive Fields of Retinal Ganglion Cells.- 15 Retinal Mechanisms of Colour Vision.- 16 Light and Dark Adaption.- 17 The Electroretinogram, as Analyzed by Microelectrode Studies.- 18 Retinal Metabolism in Dark and Light.- Author Index.

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