title: Complexity of retinal cone bipolar cells.
abstract: An open issue of retinal organization and function is the comprehension of the different tasks specifically performed by bipolar cells, the neurons that collect information from photoreceptors in the outer retina and convey the signal to the inner plexiform layer. Particularly interesting is to understand the unique contribution to the visual signal brought by cone bipolar cells, neurons typical of the mammalian retina and especially dedicated to receive synaptic input from cones. In all the species studied so far, it has been shown that cone bipolar cells occur in about ten different types, which form distinct clusters identified with a panel of both classical and modern genetic methods. Reviewed here is current literature illustrating the occurrence of morphological, molecular and architectural features that confer to each bipolar cell type exclusive fingerprints, ultimately predicting the emergence of similarly unique, albeit still partially unraveled, functional properties. Thus, differences among cone bipolar cells lay the ground for the genesis in the outer retina of parallel channels, which convey to the inner retina separate information, among others, about contrast, chromatic features and temporal properties of the visual signal.
authors.affiliation: CNR Neuroscience Institute, Area della Ricerca CNR, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi 1, 56100 Pisa, Italy. enrica.strettoi@in.cnr.it
authors.forename: Enrica
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Strettoi
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Novelli
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mazzoni
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.forename: Devid
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Damiani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D051245:Retinal Bipolar Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate