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The response of rods and cones to stimulation. Upper Sixth Biology. Aims. By the end of the lesson you should understand The response of the rod cell to light The effect of light on rhodopsin The response of the cone cell to light How colour vision is facilitated
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The response of rods and cones to stimulation Upper Sixth Biology
Aims • By the end of the lesson you should understand • The response of the rod cell to light • The effect of light on rhodopsin • The response of the cone cell to light • How colour vision is facilitated • How neurotransmitters are released
Structure of the Retina • At the back of the retina, furthest away from the vitreous humor • Rods and cones • Rods for low intensity light • Cones for colour vision
Rods and cones • Shape • Discs • Cilium • Rhodopsin • Cone pigments • RER and mitochondria and nucleus
Effect of light on rhodopsin • The normal structure of the retinal in rhodopsin has a kink in it at C 11 (11-cis-retinal • The light (can be a single photon) hitting it causes it to change in shape, straighten and become all trans-retinal • No longer fits the binding site in the opsin.
How the rod responds to light • The rod has a resting potential of -40mV • Maintained by the Na/K pump (NoKi) • Outer segment has open Na channels (Na in) • Inner segment has open K channels (K out) • When light strikes this changes
Effect of light on rhodopsin • Opsin changes shape K/Na channels close • Inside becomes more negative • Hyperpolarised • Impulses then sent to the brain • Rhodopsin is unstable and breaks down to opsin and all-trans –retinal in a few minutes • All –trans -> 11-cis retinal in the discs • Dark adaptation.
Pulfrich Pendulum Experiment • Dark adapt one eye and observe the pendulum • Describe the path of the pendulum • Effect cause by the time lag in the dark adapted eye.
Effect of light on cone cells • These also have pigment molecules in the membrane of the outer segment • Needs more photons hitting to hyperpolarise • Wavelength specific • Colour vision comes from the brain interpreting the intensity of signals from each type
Release of neurotransmitter • There are different transmitter substances releases by rod cells • Cone cells release glutamate • Stimulation with light hyperpolarise the cell • Receptors are constantly releaseing neurotransmitter except when stimulated
Bipolar cells • Arrival of a neurotransmitter at the bipolar cell may depolarise or hyperpolarise, which may increase or decrease the amount of neurotransmitter it releases
Ganglion cells • Ganglion cells never total inactive • Always firing action potentials to the brain • Frequency of APs depends on the amount of neurotransmitter arriving from the bipolar cells • Some fire more often when stimulated, so more slowly