Spectral sensitivity and visual pigment absorbance.

Abstract A discrepancy has been noted between the spectral absorbance of visual pigments in solution and the scotopic spectral sensitivity of the retina. Studies on the isolated, intact retinae of Rana pipiens and Gekko gekko have shown that the absorbance of visual pigments in the intact retina is greater at longer wavelengths than the absorbance of the pigments in solution. The increased absorbance of frog rhodopsin in the intact retina can be correlated with the scotopic spectral sensitivity of the frog. These findings are extrapolated to explain the difference between the spectral absorbance of human rhodopsin (P493 1 ) in solution and the scotopic spectral sensitivity of man, which has a spectral maximum of 497 nm.

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