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A photoreceptor cell is a specialized type of neuroepithelial cell found in the retina that is capable of visual phototransduction.The great biological importance of photoreceptors is that they convert light (visible electromagnetic radiation) into signals that can stimulate biological processes.
Rod cells are photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that can function in lower light better than the other type of visual photoreceptor, cone cells. Rods are usually found concentrated at the outer edges of the retina and are used in peripheral vision .
Visual phototransduction is the sensory transduction process of the visual system by which light is detected by photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) in the vertebrate retina.A photon is absorbed by a retinal chromophore (each bound to an opsin), which initiates a signal cascade through several intermediate cells, then through the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) comprising the optic nerve.
Photoreceptor proteins are light-sensitive proteins involved in the sensing and response to light in a variety of organisms. Some examples are rhodopsin in the photoreceptor cells of the vertebrate retina , phytochrome in plants, and bacteriorhodopsin and bacteriophytochromes in some bacteria .
These photoreceptor cells project both throughout the retina and into the brain. They contain the photopigment melanopsin in varying quantities along the cell membrane, including on the axons up to the optic disc, the soma, and dendrites of the cell. [3] ipRGCs contain membrane receptors for the neurotransmitters glutamate, glycine, and GABA. [11]
The neural retina consists of several layers of neurons interconnected by synapses and is supported by an outer layer of pigmented epithelial cells. The primary light-sensing cells in the retina are the photoreceptor cells, which are of two types: rods and cones. Rods function mainly in dim light and provide monochromatic vision.
drawing of a cone cell showing the invaginations of the outer segment that form the 'discs' Disc shedding is the process by which photoreceptor cells in the retina are renewed. The disc formations in the outer segment of photoreceptors, which contain the photosensitive opsins, are completely renewed every ten days.
Photoreceptor can refer to: . In anatomy/cell biology: Photoreceptor cell, a photosensitive cell in the retina of vertebrate eyes; Simple eye in invertebrates (Ocellus), photoreceptor organ ("simple eye") of invertebrates often composed of a few sensory cells and a single lens