Photopic Spectral Sensitivity of the Chicken Retina in Various Conditions of Adaptation. An Electroretinographic Study

Abstract

The spectral sensitivity of the chicken retina has been determined by electroretinographic as well as by behavioural methods: using the b-wave of the ERG as a measure of sensitivity, Armington and Thiede (1956) came to the conclusion that the photopic spectral sensitivity is maximal at 580 nm; studying a behavioural response (pecking) in lights of different wavelengths, Honigmann (1921) found the same sensitivity-peak at 580 nm in the adult animal. In order to study some of the effects of light adaptation upon the responsiveness of a certain type of retina, we have undertaken an electroretinographic study of the photopic spectral sensitivity of the chicken retina submitted to various conditions of adaptation, the spectral sensitivity being used as a measure of the effects of light adaptation upon the responsiveness of the retina. Such a study was thought to be liable to uncover valuable data concerning the functional properties of, as well as the interactions between, the systems responsible for the reception and the coding of photic stimuli within that retina.