Abstract
WE recently presented evidence that rods encoded ϕ, the quantum catch from a flash, into a nerve signal of magnitude N, where N=ϕ/(ϕ+σ), and σ, the semi-saturation constant, is about 800 quanta absorbed per rod per flash. The electroretinogram (ERG) was also recorded for various intensities of ϕ, and it was found that N coincided with the a wave amplitude when both were plotted against log ϕ and scaled to the same maximum1. Thus it seemed possible that a was the electric sign of N. Here we consider adaptation by steady backgrounds for the light this throws on N and also the a and b waves of the ERG.
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References
Alpern, M., Rushton, W. A. H., and Torii, S., Nature, 223, 1171 (1969).
Aguilar, M., and Stiles, W. S., Optica Acta, 1, 59 (1954).
Rushton, W. A. H., J. Physiol., 168, 345 (1963).
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ALPERN, M., FULTON, A., RUSHTON, W. et al. Effect of Adaptation on the Retinal Nerve Code. Nature 224, 712–713 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/224712a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/224712a0
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