Abstract
In mammalian retina, the Y (or M) ganglion cells respond more transiently, have larger receptive fields, and are less spectral selective than the X (or P) cells. A “fast-most” model is introduced to show that the differences between the cells can be explained by assigning different functional goals to them. The goal of the Y cells is to extract as fast as possible the minimum amount of information necessary for quick responses. In contrast, the X cells are to extract as much information as possible.
