A biophysically realistic simulation of the vertebrate retina.

Retinal ganglion cells can be classified as ON, OFF, X- and Y-cells which exhibit different temporal and spatial properties. While X-cells respond with a small transient at stimulus onset and a strong sustained component, Y-cells show a strong transient response. In this work, simulation results from a biological highly realistic model of the retina are presented that could explain the origins of these findings. The general purpose of the model is (1) to study functional aspects of different connection patterns and (2) to generate a realistic spike output that could be used as afferent input for models of higher vision.