Retinal Processing: Polarization Vision in Teleost Fishes

摘要

What is the basic biological understanding of polarization vision system under examination and how we plan to use our understanding of this system to make advances in the area of sensor technology. Every biological system has a model species that best illustrates structural and functional attributes of the question under examination. Teleosts fishes present an exciting opportunity to study retinal structure and function as it pertains to polarization vision. For example, salmon and coral reef fishes both display behaviors dependent on polarization perception. Our recent findings demonstrate that polarization acuity (dimensionality) is dependent on two important principles: the geometry of the cone photoreceptor mosaics; and the functional organization of opponency-based retinal processes. Our understanding of biological structure and processes is directed towards developing computational and silicon (VSLI) chip-based models with significant promise for the development of target detection and navigational guidance systems for aquatic, terrestrial or aeronautical autonomous vehicles.