Name the retinal cells primarily responsible for lateral inhibition shaping receptive fields in outer and inner retina.

Name the retinal cells primarily responsible for lateral inhibition shaping receptive fields in outer and inner retina.

• A. Rods and cones.
• B. Horizontal cells (outer retina) and amacrine cells (inner retina).
• C. Ganglion cells only.
• D. Bipolar cells only.

Answer: (B)

Lateral inhibition in the retina is produced by interneurons that connect across neighboring pathways. In the outer retina, horizontal cells link photoreceptors and provide inhibitory feedback to neighboring photoreceptors and to bipolar cell dendrites, creating an antagonistic surround for the receptive fields that the downstream bipolar and ganglion cells inherit. In the inner retina, amacrine cells interact with bipolar terminals and ganglion cells, delivering additional lateral inhibition that sharpens the center-surround structure and shapes the temporal aspects of the ganglion cell response. Rods and cones themselves are the light detectors and don’t implement this inhibitory surround, while ganglion and bipolar cells carry or relay the signal but aren’t the primary lateral-inhibitory mediators. So the cells responsible for shaping the receptive fields through lateral inhibition are the horizontal cells in the outer retina and the amacrine cells in the inner retina.

Lateral inhibition in the retina is produced by interneurons that connect across neighboring pathways. In the outer retina, horizontal cells link photoreceptors and provide inhibitory feedback to neighboring photoreceptors and to bipolar cell dendrites, creating an antagonistic surround for the receptive fields that the downstream bipolar and ganglion cells inherit. In the inner retina, amacrine cells interact with bipolar terminals and ganglion cells, delivering additional lateral inhibition that sharpens the center-surround structure and shapes the temporal aspects of the ganglion cell response. Rods and cones themselves are the light detectors and don’t implement this inhibitory surround, while ganglion and bipolar cells carry or relay the signal but aren’t the primary lateral-inhibitory mediators. So the cells responsible for shaping the receptive fields through lateral inhibition are the horizontal cells in the outer retina and the amacrine cells in the inner retina.