Cho Alice K, Sampath Alapakkam P, Weiland James D
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2011;2011:1081-4. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6090252.
An epiretinal prosthesis aims to restore functional vision by stimulating electrically the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in patients affected by photoreceptor degenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). During retinal degeneration, photoreceptor death is followed by pronounced remodeling and rewiring of inner retinal cells. Despite these changes, a considerable population of RGCs remain receptive to prosthetic stimulation. To target selectively a localized subset of RGCs, an improved understanding of the anatomical and physiological properties of these cells is required. Additionally, potential alterations in electrical excitability produced by the retinal degeneration needs to be assessed. This study investigates the effect of RGC soma size on the threshold for action potential (spike) generation and its implications for the rescue of visual function.
视网膜外植体旨在通过电刺激受光感受器退行性疾病影响的患者的视网膜神经节细胞（RGCs）来恢复功能性视力，这些疾病包括年龄相关性黄斑变性（AMD）和色素性视网膜炎（RP）。在视网膜变性过程中，光感受器死亡后会伴随着视网膜内层细胞的显著重塑和重新布线。尽管有这些变化，但相当一部分RGCs仍然对假体刺激有反应。为了选择性地靶向RGCs的局部子集，需要更好地了解这些细胞的解剖学和生理学特性。此外，还需要评估视网膜变性产生的电兴奋性的潜在变化。本研究调查了RGC胞体大小对动作电位（尖峰）产生阈值的影响及其对视觉功能恢复的意义。
