The outer plexiform layer (external plexiform layer) is a layer of

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. ...

al synapses in 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 ...

of the eye. It consists of a dense network of synapses between

dendrites Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον ''déndron'', "tree"), also dendrons, are branched protoplasmic extensions of a nerve cell that propagate the electrochemical stimulation received from other neural cells to the cell body, or soma, of the ...

horizontal cell Horizontal cells are the laterally interconnecting neurons having cell bodies in the inner nuclear layer of the retina of vertebrate eyes. They help integrate and regulate the input from multiple photoreceptor cells. Among their functions, hori ...

s from the

inner nuclear layer The inner nuclear layer or layer of inner granules, of the retina, is made up of a number of closely packed cells, of which there are three varieties, viz.: bipolar cells, horizontal cells, and amacrine cells. Bipolar cells The bipolar cells, by ...

, and photoreceptor cell inner segments from the

outer nuclear layer The outer nuclear layer (or layer of outer granules or external nuclear layer), is one of the layers of the vertebrate retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates ...

. It is much thinner than the

inner plexiform layer The inner plexiform layer is an area of the retina that is made up of a dense reticulum of fibrils formed by interlaced dendrites of retinal ganglion cells and cells of the inner nuclear layer The inner nuclear layer or layer of inner granules, o ...

, where

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 proj ...

s synapse with retinal ganglion cells. The synapses in the outer plexiform layer are between the rod cell endings or cone cell branched foot plates and horizontal cells. Unlike in most systems, rod and cone cells release neurotransmitters when not receiving a light signal.

References

External links

* Human eye anatomy {{eye-stub ca:Retina#Capes de la retina