Cones Receive Positive and Negative Feedback (IMAGE)

University of California - Berkeley

Cones Receive Positive and Negative Feedback

Caption

Cones normally release the neurotransmitter glutamate in the dark, while light decreases glutamate release. This graph of neurotransmitter release shows what happens when cone cells are exposed to a dark spot in a light background (top) under various scenarios, including no feedback (green trace) and only negative feedback from horizontal cells (red trace). Negative feedback to many cones enhances edges, but would decrease detail in dark areas were it not for newly discovered positive feedback that is localized to only a few cone cells (blue trace).

Credit

Richard Kramer lab, UC Berkeley

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