Definition
Retinal degenerative diseases lead to blindness due to loss of the “image capturing” photoreceptor layer, while neurons in the “image processing” inner nuclear layer and the “output” ganglion cell layer are relatively well preserved. Electronic retinal prostheses seek to restore sight by patterned electrical stimulation of the surviving retinal neurons.
Detailed Description
In a normal retina, photoreceptors convert light into neural signals that are processed by the inner retinal neurons, leading to generation of action potentials in the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). These signals travel to the brain through the optic nerve and serve as the basis for visual perception. Electrical stimulation of the retina with microelectrode arrays can also produce action potentials in RGCs, creating spatially patterned percepts of light, called phosphenes. Several approaches to retinal stimulation have been developed and tested: epiretinal, subretinal, and suprachoroidal.
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References
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Palanker, D. (2014). Retinal Prostheses for Restoration of Sight. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_665-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_665-1
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Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6
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Chapter history
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Latest
Visual Prosthesis, Optoelectronic Devices- Published:
- 30 August 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_665-2
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Original
Retinal Prostheses for Restoration of Sight- Published:
- 22 March 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_665-1