A formula for human retinal ganglion cell receptive field density as a function of visual field location.
Open accessAbstract
In the human eye, all visual information must traverse the retinal ganglion cells. The most numerous subclass, the midget retinal ganglion cells, are believed to underlie spatial pattern vision. Thus the density of their receptive fields imposes a fundamental limit on the spatial resolution of human vision. This density varies across the retina, declining rapidly with distance from the fovea. Modeling spatial vision of extended or peripheral targets thus requires a quantitative description of midget cell density throughout the visual field. Through an analysis of published data on human retinal topography of cones and ganglion cells, as well as analysis of prior formulas, we have developed a new formula for midget retinal ganglion cell density as a function of position in the monocular or binocular visual field.
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The output neurons of the retina are ganglion cells, which send their axons (approximately 1-1.5 million per eye) through the optic nerve to the brain.
“The output neurons of the retina are the ganglion cells, which send their axons (approximately 1–1.5 million per eye) through the optic nerve to the brain (Watson, 2014).”
From Toward Long-Term Communication With the Brain in the Blind by Intracortical Stimulation: Challenges and Future Prospects (2020) · cites this paper as Watson, 2014
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- Authors
- Watson, A. B.
- Affiliations
- Ames Research Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Watson, Andrew B.
- ORCID
- Watson, Andrew B.
- Venue
- Journal of Vision
- Published
- 2014-06-30
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 15
- ISSN
- 1534-7362 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2094627922
- Cited by
- 197
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 5.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Vision (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinal Development and Disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Ophthalmology › Glaucoma and retinal disorders
- Keywords
- retinal ganglion cells, midget cells, visual field location, fovea, peripheral vision, spatial resolution, retinal topography, binocular vision
- MeSH terms
- Cell Count, Fovea Centralis, Humans, Retinal Ganglion Cells, Visual Acuity, Visual Fields, Visual Perception, Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells
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