Signals Spreading and Information Processing in the Outer Plexiform Layer of the Frog Retina

The outer plexiform layer of the frog retina was taken as a spatio-temporal three-dimensional information processing system, the input was light illumination on the frog retina, and the output was receptor potential in bipolar cells. It was supposed that the response of photosensory cells was transmitted directly to bipolar cells, as well as spread to all directions to horizontal cells, resulting in an accepting region of disk shape. The lateral spreading nerve signals were then transmitted to the bipolar cells as inhibitory signals. The intensity of all signals decreased exponentially with distance, and with time. According to the above, a mathematical model was proposed, and by Fourier analysis, it was confirmed that the model corresponded with the feature detectors of the frog eye very well.