Physiological engineering model of the outer retina

In the vertebrate retina, the outer plexiform layer which consists of synaptic connections among photoreceptors, horizontal cells and bipolar cells, plays a fundamental role in color- and spatial-information processings. Developing a quantitative model of the outer retina is essential toward better understanding of the outer plexiform layer. Here we propose ionic current models of photoreceptor, horizontal cell and bipolar cells based on the published experimental data. The models provide a better understanding of the functional role of the ionic currents in outer retinal cells in generating the electrical responses. We also discuss how the function of the retinal outer plexiform layer may be studied by constructing a network model from the ionic current based single cell models