Retinal Neuron Classification

From Eyewire
Revision as of 14:54, 28 September 2015 by Miopio (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search
Retinal Neuron Classification


Understanding how the brain processes sensory stimuli requires a To understand how the brain processes sensory stimuli, we must first understand the basic building blocks of the pathway. Elucidating The neurons within the retina provide the only gateway to the rest of the visual system--arguably making it one of the most accessible sensory systems to study in all species.

The classification of neuronal cell types has been an endeavor pursued by many in the scientific community, particularly in the retina. The neurons within the retina provide the only gateway to the rest of the visual system--arguably making it one of the most accessible sensory systems to study in all species. To understand how the brain processes visual stimuli, we must first understand the basic building blocks of the visual pathway, beginning with the multitudinous components of visual processing in each retinal layer.

Many researchers are simultaneously attempting the classification of retinal neurons, coming up with new types and categorizations at a rapid rate; it often becomes complicated to distinguish between cell types, or to discern which types correspond with each other. Without the ability to uniformly identify a specific type, it is difficult to cross-correlate between studies, and more tedious than it should be to gain access to the entirety of known facts about a cell type. In order for researchers to conduct future studies, it becomes beneficial to effectively use the information already available to us.

Our Purpose

The goal of this wiki is to consolidate information from existing retinal neuron classifications and accomplish the following:

  • To establish a complete and accurate list of retinal neuron types, including synonyms
  • To provide information about each cell type, with links to the relevant literature
  • To cross-reference with information about cell types generated by EyeWire and showcased in Cell Museum

Our Approach

Because there is so much information about so many cell types being generated, a single person cannot document it all. We believe that the wiki must be developed collectively by multiple contributors from the research community. This approach will also keep the information current as new research is published

If you are interested in contributing, please create a new cell type page, or edit an existing one. All existing pages can be found in the table below.