Abstract

The electroretinogram (ERG) is a component electrical response originating in radially oriented elements of the retina. The two major early components have opposite polarity at the cornea and are generated by the photoreceptors and inner retinal elements. These components combine algebraically to produce the a- and b-wave features of the ERG. Reconstruction of the photoreceptor component of the response as a function of intensity is an important research and clinical goal. Photoreceptor response for excised rods has been modeled as the output of a cascade of linear low-pass filters, modified to account for response compression, in response to a brief flash of light.¹ This low-pass impulse-response model has also been fitted to the leading edge of the ERG a-wave.²

© 1990 Optical Society of America