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- Glossary
Macula
The area of the retina with the highest density of photoreceptors. Due to this high "resolution," we see very sharply here. The diameter of the macula in humans is approximately 5 mm. The fovea centralis is located in the center of the macula.
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- Glossary
Horizontal cell
Horizontal cells are nerve cells in the retina. They form a lateral connection between photoreceptors and bipolar cells. In this way, they increase the contrast of what is seen.
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- Glossary
Afterimage
An image that is perceived after the actual image is no longer present. An afterimage normally occurs when you have stared at an image for about a minute. In the case of positive afterimages, the image has similar brightness and colors to the original. Negative afterimages occur more frequently: when looking at a white surface, the image previously viewed appears there in the respective complementary color. Afterimages are caused by the "overfatigue" of the photoreceptors, which stop sending signals to the brain after a certain period of viewing.
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- Glossary
Papilla
The optic nerve leaves the eye at the papilla, the optic disc. Since there are no photoreceptors at this point on the retina, the optic disc creates a blind spot.
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- Glossary
Transducin
A G protein found in the photoreceptors of the retina. It is activated when a photon hits a photopigment and causes the cation channels in the photoreceptor to close. It is therefore an important component of the visual signal transduction cascade.
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