Colour Vision

Sensitivity & Acuity

 Colour Vision
Trichromatic theory of colour vision

• There is only one type of rod and this responds strongly to bluish-
green light
•Cones are divided into three categories, each of which has a
different sensitivity to light
• There are red light receptors, green light receptors and blue light
receptors.
• These cone sensitivities support the trichromatic theory as all
colours of the visible spectrum can be seen by mixing the 3
primary colours (red, blue and green)
•White objects reflect all colours to eye, black absorbs all colours
so no light to the eye.
Wavelengths of light absorbed by
different cones
Colour Blindness

• If you have normal vision you

will see a figure seven in
reddish brown dots.
• People with red-green colour
blindness will not see the 7,
why?
• These people lack red sensitive
cones, but the green stimulated
cones are stimulated by the red
light, so all dots appear green
 Sensitivity and Acuity
• Rods and cones synapse with bipolar cells
• Bipolar cells synapse with ganglion cells
• Ganglion cells synapse with neurone fibres
• At the fovea each cone synapses individually with a ganglion cell
• This gives good Acuity (resolution). N.B Bright light needed
• Many Rods synapse with one bipolar neurone – RETINAL
CONVERGENCE
•Dim light results in small amount of neurotransmitter release
•Individually, this would be insufficient to over come the threshold of
the bipolar cell, but the total amount of transmitter from several rods is
• This gives less acuity but better sensitivity