Cells In the Retina Tile Like Puzzle Pieces

tim writes "Recent work at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif. shows that cells in the retina sample visual space like a multi-layered jigsaw puzzle. High resolution measurements of light response reveal that individual cells have irregular shapes, but together their shapes coordinate to tightly cover visual space. This type of large scale, exquisite coordination could be a general organizing principle of the brain, but no one has seen it previously because technical obstacles typically prevent recording from large cell populations." Here's a link to full paper.

Re:Let the flamewar begin!

[Timberwolf0122]

God lives in my pocket, it's the only way I can explain how a simple piece of straight string can tie it's self into such a complex ball of knots, Kent Hovind told me that extra information (such as knots) can't form naturally and adding energy (by say walking) is destructive ergo god is in my pocket tangling all my strings. Bastard.

Re:Maybe it is like corals

[Ichoran]

The output cells of the retina use inputs from lots of primary detector cells (rods and cones) through several layers. They also do not fill space, but send slender processes around contacting neighbors.

Whether it's cooperative coordination or some sort of competition, it is exquisite in that this is not something that is obviously easy to coordinate (unlike cells growing in a sheet which tile space because they get in each others' way).