Must-Reads Retina

It is finally time for a new MaxWell Monthly Must-Reads. Last months edition highlighted the topic of Axons and for the February edition we are focusing on Retina applications.

Below you can find five publications related to the topic of Retina. Besides citing five articles, we also pick and highlight one article each month. This month we decided to provide you with a summary of the article that was published last year by Mure et al. We hope you enjoy reading the articles.

Functional Diversity of Human Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells.
by Ludovic S. Mure, Frans Vinberg, Anne Hanneken and Satchidananda Panda. Science. December 2019.

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are a rare subpopulation of ganglion cells (<5%). Their primary role is to signal light for largely subconscious, non-image-forming visual reflexes, such as circadian photoentrainment (synchronising daily physiological rhythms), pupillary light reflex (pupillary constriction) and neuroendocrine regulation. However, recently it has also been shown that ipRGCs mediate some aspects of image forming vision including brightness discrimination and contrast detection. Although functional and morphological ipRGC subtypes have been described in rodents (M1-M6), parallel functional subtypes have remained elusive in primates and humans. Despite never being proven, it has been theorised for quite some time that the human retina possibly contains several intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell types. In their paper published in the December 2019 issue of Science, Mure and colleagues for the first time measure the response properties of human ipRGC photoresponses using microelectrode array technology. They identified three functional ipRGC subtypes that differ in their spectral sensitivity.

Read the paper here. Numerous news articles can also be found about this paper, including the articles on MedicalXPress and Eurekalert.

Besides the above-mentioned paper, four other publications related to Retina can be found below:

  1. Melanopsin Expressing Human Retinal Ganglion Cells: Subtypes, Distribution, and Intraretinal connectivity.
    by Jens Hannibal, Anders T. Christiansen, Steffen Heegaard, Jan Fahrenkrug and Jens F. Kiilgaard. The Journal of Comparative Neurology. March 2017.
    Read the paper here.
  2. A Visual Circuit Related to Habenula Underlies the Antidepressive Effects of Light Therapy.
    by Lu Huang, Yue Xi, Yanfang Peng, Yan Yang, Xiaodan Huang, Yunwei Fu, Qian Tao, Jia Xiao, Tifei Yuan, Kai An, Huan Zhao, Minglian Pu, Fuqiang Xu, Tian Xue, Minmin Luo, Kwok-Fai So and Chaoran Ren. Neuron. April 2019.
    Read the paper here. In addition, a news article can be found here (Article written in simplified Chinese).
  3. Melanopsin Photoreception Contributes to Human Visual Detection, Temporal and Colour Processing.
    byAndre J. Zele, Beatrix Feigl, Prakash Adhikari, Michelle L. Maynard and Digcai Cao. Scientific Reports. March 2018.
    Read the paper here.
  4. A Quantitative Analysis of the Contribution of Melanopsin to Brightness Perception.
    by Masahiko Yamakawa, Sei-ichi Tsujimura and Katsunori Okajima. Nature. May 2019.
    Read the paper here. More information about this publication can be found on MedicalXPress, Science Daily and First Post.