PHYSIOLOGY OF VISION

DR.V.SRINIVASAN
PHYSIOLOGY OF VISION
• A complex phenomenon,still poorly
understood
• Main mechanisms
Initiation of vision(transduction)
Transmission of visual sensation
Visual perception
• RODS and CONES – sensory nerve
endings for visual sensations
PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF VISION
• Vitamin A

• Visual pigments

• Light induced changes

VITAMIN A
• Dietary sources
Animal foods(retinol)ex:Liver,milk products
Plant foods(carotenes)-alpha, beta, gamma

• Absorbed thro’ intestine and stored in liver with

retinol binding protein-stable
• Transported from liver to eye-binds to receptors
in the RPE
• RBP left out.Retinol enters.
VISUAL PIGMENTS
• Those substances which have the property of absorbing light.All
wavelengths equally-grey or black,green if absorbs all except green
• Rods- Rhodopsin(visual purple)
• Cones-Erythrolabe.Chlorolabe,Cyanolabe
• SYNTHESIS OF RHODOPSIN
 Retinol transported to outer segment of photoreceptors
 Retinol oxidized to RETINENE(RETINAL) by RETINENE REDUCTASE
 Retinene combines with opsin to form rhodopsin
 Occupies the innermost portion of outer segment of photoreceptors
VISUAL PIGMENTS Cont…
• So rhodopsin = opsin(scotopsin) +
retinene(retinal-aldehyde of retinol)

• CONE PIGMENTS – respond to specific

wavelengths of light giving rise to colour vision
• Differences are present in the opsin portion of
the molecule
• Peak absorbance wavelength of blue, green, red
cones-435,535,580 nm
LIGHT INDUCED CHANGES
Light falls over retina
↓
Absorbed by the photosensitive pigments(rods &
cones)
↓
Photochemical changes
↓
Electrical changes
↓
Process of vision sets in
THE PROCESSES INVOLVED IN
PRODUCING CLEAR IMAGE IN THE EYE
• REFRACTION OF LIGHT RAYS
• ACCOMODATION OF THE EYES TO LIGHT
REFRACTION OF THE LIGHT
RAYS
• THE LENS IS THE ONLY STRUCTURE IN
THE EYE THAT CHANGES ITS
REFRACTIVE POWER.
• LIGHT FROM DISTANT OBJECTS NEEDS
LEAST REFRACTION AND AS THE
OBJECTS COME CLOSER,THE AMOUNT
NEEDED IS INCREASED.
.
• TO INCRESE REFRACTIVE POWER OF
LENSTHE CILIARY MUSCLE
CONTRACTS,RELEASING ITS PULL ON
THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS AND THE
ANTERIOR SURFACE OF THE LENS
BULGES FORWARD,INCREASING ITS
CONVEXITY.
.
• TO DECREASE THE REFRACTIVE
INDEX OF THE LENS THE CILIARY
MUSCLE RELAXES, IT SLIPS
BACKWARDS,INCREASING ITS PULL ON
THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS, MAKING
THE LENS THINNER.
ACCOMODATION OF EYES TO
LIGHT
• 1.PUPIL IN BRIGHT LIGHT GETS
CONSTRICTED AVOID ALLOWING
EXCESSIVE LIGHT ENTERING INTO THE
EYE.
• PUPIL IN DIM LIGHT GETS DILATED
ALLOWING EXCESSIVE LIGHT TO ENTER
THE EYE TO ACTIVATE PHOTOSENSITIVE
PIGMENTS
MOVEMENTS OF EYEBALL TO
PRODUCE CONVERGENCE
• TO GET CLEAR IMAGE CONVERGENCE
MUST.
RODS
• MORE SENSITIVE THAN CONES.
• MORE NUMEROUS TOWARDS THE
PERIPHERYOF RETINA.
• STIMULATED BY LOW DENSITY OR DIM
LIGHT [SCOTOPIC VISION].
• VISUAL PURPLE IS APHOTOSENSITIVE
PIGMENT PRESENT ONLY IN RODS.
CONES

• RESPONSIBLE FOR DAY OR PHOTOPIC

VISION.
PHOTO CHEMICAL CHANGES
• Occur in the outer segments of both the rods & cones

• Described under 3 headings

 Rhodopsin bleaching

 Rhodopsin regeneration

 Visual cycle
RHODOPSIN BLEACHING

Rhodopsin(opsin + 11-cis-retinal)
↓ Light energy
Metarhodopsin(decreases cGMP)
↓
Opsin + all-trans-retinal (photo decomposition)

Now rhodopsin is said to be bleached by light.

Frequency of bleaching increases in direct relation with

the intensity of light falling over the retina.
RHODOPSIN REGENERATION

all-trans-retinal
↓retinal isomerase

11-cis-retinal
(Occurs in outer segment of photoreceptors)
↓
Combines with opsin to form rhodopsin
WALSH VISUAL CYCLE

• Rhodopsin
• All-trans-retinal
• 11-cis-retinal
• Rhodopsin
• Under constant light stimulation a steady state exists
where the rate of bleaching is equal to the synthesis.
VISUAL PERCEPTIONS
• LIGHT SENSE -one which enables us to perceive
light not only as such but in all its gradations of
intensity.
Minimum brightness required to evoke a sensation of
light is light minimum.
Ability of the eye to adapt itself to decreasing
illumination is dark adaptation.

• FORM SENSE -ability to differentiate between the

shape of objects.maximum in fovea.visual acuity is a
measure of form sense.
VISUAL PERCEPTIONS Cont…
• SENSE OF CONTRAST -ability of the eye to
perceive slight changes in the luminance between
regions which are not separated by definite borders

• COLOUR SENSE-ability of the eye to discriminate

between different colours excited by the light of different
wavelengths.function of cones.
COLOUR SENSE
• NORMAL COLOUR VISION IS CALLED
TRICHROMATIC [[RED,GREEN AND BLUE
–PRIMARY COLOURS]].
• COLOUR VISION IS TESTED BY ISHIHARA
ISOCHROMATIC CHART.
• PROTANOPES-BLIND FOR RED[COMMON]
• DEUTERANOPES-BLIND FOR GREEN
• TRITANOPES-BLIND FOR BLUE [RARE].
BINOCULAR VISION

• THE IMAGES FROM THE TWO EYES ARE

FUSED IN THE CEREBRUM SO THAT ONLY
ONE IMAGE IS PERCEIVED.
• IT PROVIDES MUCH MORE ACCURATE
ASSESSMENT OF
DISTANCE,DEPTH,HEIGHT,WIDTH OF
ONE OBJECT.
.

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