Neurobiology and Clinical Aspects of the Outer Retina

This comprehensive work reviews the neurobiological organization of the vertebrate outer retina with an emphasis on mammalian systems. An international team of contributors discuss the ways in which outer retinal neurones (photoreceptor, bipolar and horizontal cells) and their interconnections are disrupted in clinical conditions such as Parkinson's disease, paraneoplastic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa and other retinal dystrophies. The book begins by reviewing the functional organization and development of the outer retina, then moves on to a discussion of the contributions made by the different retinal neurones and their synaptic circuits to the visual process. Throughout, authors relate basic neurobiology to clinical conditions. Four concluding chapters focus on the mechanisms through which clinical conditions affect the outer retina. The volume should be of interest to all researchers investigating retinal function and dysfunction, general neurobiologists and visual scientists, as well as ophthalmologists and interested clinicians.