Bistratified ganglion cell can refer to either of two kinds of
retinal ganglion cell
A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the ganglion cell layer) of the retina of the human eye, eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptor cell, photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron typ ...
s whose cell body is located in the
ganglion cell layer
The ganglion cell layer (ganglionic layer) is a layer of the retina that consists of retinal ganglion cells and displaced amacrine cells.
The cells are somewhat flask-shaped; the rounded internal surface of each resting on the stratum opticum, an ...
of the
retina
The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...
, 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).
Bistratified cells receive their input from
bipolar cells
A bipolar neuron, or bipolar cell, is a type of neuron that has two extensions (one axon and one dendrite). Many bipolar cells are specialized sensory neurons for the transmission of sense. As such, they are part of the sensory pathways for smell ...
and
amacrine cell
Amacrine cells are interneurons in the retina. They are named from the Greek roots ''a–'' ("non"), ''makr–'' ("long") and ''in–'' ("fiber"), because of their short neuronal processes. Amacrine cells are inhibitory neurons, and they proje ...
s. The bistratified cells project their axons through the
optic nerve
In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual system, visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve i ...
and
optic tract
In neuroanatomy, the optic tract () is a part of the visual system in the brain. It is a continuation of the optic nerve that relays information from the optic chiasm to the ipsilateral lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), pretectal nuclei, and supe ...
to the koniocellular layers in the
lateral geniculate nucleus
In neuroanatomy, the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN; also called the lateral geniculate body or lateral geniculate complex) is a structure in the thalamus and a key component of the mammalian visual pathway. It is a small, ovoid, ventral projec ...
(LGN), synapsing with
koniocellular cell
A koniocellular cell (konio: Greek, ''dust'' or ''poison'', also known as K cell) is a neuron with a small cell body that is located in the koniocellular layer of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in primates, including humans.
Koniocellular la ...
s. 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.
See also
*
Midget cell
A midget cell is one type of retinal ganglion cell (RGC). Midget cells originate in the ganglion cell layer of the retina, and project to the parvocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The axons of midget cells travel through t ...
*
Parasol cell
A parasol cell, sometimes called an M cell or M ganglion cell, is one type of retinal ganglion cell (RGC) located in the ganglion cell layer of the retina. These cells project to magnocellular cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) as part ...
*
Photosensitive ganglion cell
Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), also called photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGC), or melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells (mRGCs), are a type of neuron in the retina of the mammalian eye. The presence ...
References
{{Eye anatomy
Visual system
Human cells