Abstract
Photoreceptor cells are part of the inner sensory retina and become activated by light. Two major types of photoreceptor cells exist, which reside in specific regions in the retina. The rod cells, which contain the photopigment rhodopsin and occupy the periphery of the retina, are exceptionally sensitive to low light levels and specialised for night vision. The cone cells occupy central parts of the retina and are specialised for high resolution at high light levels and for colour detection. Three types of cone cells exist based on the photopigment they contain, which permits discrimination of blue, green, and red.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Borhan B, Souto M, Imai H, Shichida Y, and Nakanishi K (2000) Movement of retinal along the visual transduction pathway. Science 288: 2209
Kaushal S, Ridge K, and Khorana H (1994) Structure and function in rhodopsin: the role of asparagine-linked glycosylation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91: 4024
Masland R (2001) The fundamental plan of the retina. Nat Neurosci 4: 877
Menon S, Han M, and Sakmar T (2001) Rhodopsin: structural basis of molecular physiology. Physiol Rev 81: 1659
Rando R (1996) Polyenes and vision. Chem Biol 3: 255
Sakmar T (1998) Rhodopsin: a prototypical G protein-coupled receptor. Prog Nucleic Acid Res Mol Biol 59: 1
Wald G (1968) The molecular basis of visual excitation. Science 162: 230
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag/Wien
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pavelka, M., Roth, J. (2010). Photoreceptor Cells of the Retina: Signalling of Light. In: Functional Ultrastructure. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-99390-3_120
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-99390-3_120
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-99389-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-211-99390-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)