Premium
The minimum latency of the a‐wave
Author(s) -
Arden G. B.,
Ikeda Hisako
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.1968.sp008573
Subject(s) - amplitude , physics , latency (audio) , receptor potential , optics , atomic physics , audiology , receptor , medicine , telecommunications , computer science
1. Intense flashes of light evoke early and late receptor potentials from albino rat eyes. 2. When the temperature is lowered the amplitude of the early receptor potential (e.r.p.) is found to decrease much more than that of the a‐wave. Below 5° the a‐wave can be seen without a preceding negative e.r.p. 3. The a‐wave, but not the e.r.p., is suppressed by an intense flash, so that subsequent stimuli only evoke e.r.p.s. 4. The responses of such light‐adapted eyes have been used to determine the contribution of the a‐wave to the response of dark‐adapted eyes. 5. These calculated a‐waves begin during the e.r.p. with an initial portion which is biphasic. 6. The initial portion has a temperature dependence similar to that of the a‐wave. It is not related to the photoreversal of rhodopsin caused by the stimulating flashes. 7. The minimum latency of the a‐wave, extrapolated to body temperature, is approximately 300 μsec. 8. The site and mode of generation of the a‐wave is discussed.