Abstract
NEURONES which respond preferentially to slits of light of a given orientation have been found at the ganglion cell level of the retina1, as well as at higher centres of the visual system2–4. Present knowledge about the morphology of such cells and the organisation of the inputs to these cells does not account for the origins of their specialised receptive field properties. We report here that the horizontal cells impaled in the visual streak of the turtle retina (a specialised linear area centralis5 analogous to the fovea of higher vertebrates) respond preferentially to slits of light oriented parallel to the streak and thus parallel to the horizontal meridian of the animal's visual field5. Anatomical studies demonstrate that these horizontal cells are all elongated and oriented in the direction of the streak. Thus, our findings show that a class of neurones exists in the retina whose morphologies may form the basis for their specialised receptive field properties.
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NORMANN, R., KOLB, H., HANANI, M. et al. Orientation of horizontal cell axon terminals in the streak of the turtle retina. Nature 280, 60–62 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/280060a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/280060a0
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