Abstract

The effect of light in decreasing outward radial ionic current is to cause an accumulation of positive ionic charge in receptor inner segments, since the inward-flowing ionic current in the inner segment of the receptors is unaffected by light stimulus. That accumulation builds up a positive electrochemical voltage which discharges across the synaptic electrochemical spark gap. This mechanism operates on a proportionality with electric field amplitude values in a spatial Fourier transformation.¹ It is optically generated in the diffraction pattern at the eye’s focal surface and conveys all information about the original object. Cones and rods are always at the visual system’s focal surface where field amplitudes are summated and are only coincidentally also at an image surface because all objects viewed from distances of closest distinct vision out to infinity are at an effective infinite distance optically for any eye. Photon uptake is associated with transfer of charge into the interior of the disks inside cones and rods. This function decreases the light-modulated ionic current outflow from receptors and is the equivalent of a gain-decreasing mechanism proportional to energy.

© 1985 Optical Society of America