Adaptation (eye) opsin photopigment. The various cone cells are maximally sensitive to either short wavelengths (blue light), medium wavelengths (green light), or long wavelengths (red light). Rod photoreceptors only contain one type of photopigment, rhodopsin, which has a peak sensitivity at a wavelength of approximately 530 nanometers which corresponds to blue-green light. A minor mechanism of adaptation is the pupillary light reflex, adjusting the amount of light that reaches the retina. In response to varying ambient light levels, rods and cones of eye function both in isolation and in tandem to adjust the visual system. Changes in the sensitivity of rods and
Retina The vertebrate retina has ten distinct layers. From closest to farthest from the vitreous body: These layers can be grouped into 4 main processing stages: photoreception; transmission to bipolar cells; transmission to ganglion cells, which also contain photoreceptors, the photosensitive ganglion cells; and transmission along the optic nerve. At each synaptic stage there are also laterally connecting horizontal and amacrine cells. The optic nerve is a central tract of many axons of ganglion cells connecting primarily to the lateral geniculate body, a visual relay station in the diencephalon (the rear of the forebrain). It also projects to the superior colliculus,