Cells of the innermost nuclear layer of the retina, the ganglion cell layer, which project axons through the optic nerve to the brain. They are quite variable in size and in the shapes of their dendritic arbors, which are generally confined to the inner plexiform layer. A small subset of these cells act as photoreceptors and project to the SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUS, the location of the circadian clock, setting the CIRCADIAN RHYTHM.
