An anomaly in the response of the eye to light of short wavelengths

Abstract

Adaptation of the human eye to long-wavelength light leaves it insensitive to short-wavelengths: a blue flash that is visible in the presence of a yellow adapting field may remain invisible for several seconds after the field has been turned off (see experiment 1 and Appendix). This ‘transient tritanopia’ occurs for a large range of adapting intensities, but is abolished if the adapting field is very bright (experiment 2). The loss of sensitivity is primarily confined to the blue-sensitive cone mechanism (experiments 2 a , 3 and 4 ; and Appendix) and can be produced by small attenuations of the adapting field (experiment 5). It occurs in both foveal and parafoveal vision (experiment 6) but is absent when adapting and test stimuli are presented to opposite eyes (experiment 7). It was found in a protanope (experiment 9 a ) and, in a modified form, in a deuteranope (experiment 9 b ). No differences in sensitivity were found for blue flashes presented in the light and dark phases of a field flickering at a rate above the fusion frequency (Appendix). The sensitivity of the blue-sensitive mechanism of the eye appears to be controlled not only by quanta absorbed by the blue receptors but also by a mechanism with a different spectral sensitivity