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The tasks of amacrine cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2012

RICHARD H. MASLAND*
Affiliation:
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
*
*Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr. Richard H. Masland, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, 243 Charles Street, 5th floor, Boston, MA 02114. E-mail: richard_masland@meei.harvard.edu

Abstract

Their unique patterns of size, numbers, and stratification indicate that amacrine cells have diverse functions. These are mostly unknown, as studies using imaging and electrophysiological methods have only recently begun. However, some of the events that occur within the amacrine cell population—and some important unresolved puzzles—can be stated purely from structural reasoning.

Type
Perspective
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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