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

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, electrically excitable cell (biology), cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous ...

synapses In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from ...

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 Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

. 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, horizo ...

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 A photoreceptor cell is a specialized type of neuroepithelial cell found in the retina that is capable of visual phototransduction. The great biological importance of photoreceptors is that they convert light (visible electromagnetic radiati ...

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 light-detecting portion of the eye. Like the inner nuclear layer, the outer nuclear layer contains several strata o ...

. 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 A retinal ganglion cell (RGC) is a type of neuron located near the inner surface (the g ...

, 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 projec ...

s synapse with

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 eye. It receives visual information from photoreceptors via two intermediate neuron types: bipolar cells and reti ...

s. The synapses in the outer plexiform layer are between the

rod cell Rod cells are photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that can function in lower light better than the other type of visual photoreceptor, cone cells. Rods are usually found concentrated at the outer edges of the retina and are used in p ...

endings or

cone cell Cone cells, or cones, are photoreceptor cells in the retinas of vertebrate eyes including the human eye. They respond differently to light of different wavelengths, and the combination of their responses is responsible for color vision. Con ...

branched foot plates and horizontal cells. Unlike in most systems, rod and cone cells release

neurotransmitter A neurotransmitter is a signaling molecule secreted by a neuron to affect another cell across a synapse. The cell receiving the signal, any main body part or target cell, may be another neuron, but could also be a gland or muscle cell. Neur ...

s when not receiving a light signal.

References

External links

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