Photopigment optical density estimates

Study
Method
Densities*
Rods
S-cones
M-cones
L-cones
Hecht et al. (1942)

estimate

0.23
--
--
--
Brindley (1953)

colour matching

--
--
--
0.50
Brindley (1955)

colour matching

--
--
--
0.98
Walraven & Bouman (1960)

directional sensitivity

--
--
0.69
0.69
Enoch & Stiles (1961)

directional sensitivity

--
<0.20
1.00
0.70
Rushton (1963)

retinal densitometry

--
--
0.35
--
Ripps & Weale (1965)

retinal densitometry

--
--
--
0.22?
Alpern (1967)

colour matching

--
--
0.51
0.51
Terstiege (1967)

bleaching

--
--
0.70-0.90
0.70-0.90
Dobelle et al. (1969)

microspectro-photometry

--
--
0.28
--
Miller (1972)

flicker brightness matching

--
--
0.40-0.50
0.50-0.60
Smith & Pokorny (1973)

flicker brightness matching

--
--
0.30
0.40
King-Smith (1973)

retinal densitometry

--
--
--
0.40±0.07
King-Smith (1973b)

retinal densitometry

--
--
--
0.20-0.75
Alpern & Pugh (1974)

retinal densitometry

0.342
--
--
--
Pokorny & Smith (1976)

colour matching (10-deg)

--
--
0.15
0.25
Zwas & Alpern (1976)

flicker brightness matching

0.318
--
--
--
Zwas & Alpern (1976)

dark adaptation

0.342

--
--
--
Bowmaker & Dartnall (1980)

microspectro-photometry

0.475
0.375
0.525
0.525
Wyszecki & Stiles (1980)

colour matching

--
0.10
0.37
0.43
Burns & Elsner (1993)

bleaching

--
--
0.27
0.48
Elsner et al. (1993)

retinal densitometry

--
--
0.33
0.33
Elsner et al. (1993)

colour matching

--
--
1.0
1.0
von der Kraats (1995)

retinal densitometry

--
--
0.45
0.45

* Cone values are given for the central fovea; rod values for the periphery.

A small, central field (2 deg or less) may be assumed unless otherwise stated.

Table compiled by Ted Sharpe.

References

Alpern, M. & Pugh, E.N. (1974). The density and photosensitivity of human rhodopsin in the living retina. Journal of Physiology, London, 237, 341-370.

Alpern, M. (1967). Lack of uniformity in colour matching. Journal of Physiology, London, 288, 85-105.

Bowmaker, J.K. & Dartnall, H.J.A. (1980). Visual pigments of rods and cones in a human retina. Journal of Physiology, London, 298, 501-511.

Brindley, G.S. (1953). The effects on colour vision of adaptation to very bright lights. Journal of Physiology, London, 122, 332-350.

Brindley, G.S. (1955). A photochemical reaction in the human retina. Proceedings of the physical Society 68B, 862-870.

Burns, S.A. & Elsner, A.E. (1993). Color matching at high luminances: photopigment optical density and pupil entry. Journal of the Optical Society of America A 10, 221-230.

Dobelle, W.H., Marks, W.B. & MacNichol, E.F. (1969). Visual pigment densities in single primate foveal cones. Science 166, 1508-1510.

Elsner, A. E., Burns, S.A. & Webb, R.H. (1993). Mapping cone photopigment optical density. Journal of the Optical Society of America A 10, 52-58. Enoch, J.M. & Stiles, W.W. (1961). The colour change of monochromatic light with retinal angle of incidence. Optica Acta 8, 329-358.

Hecht, S., Shlaer, S. & Pirenne, M. (1942). Energy, quanta and vision. Journal of General Physiology 25, 819-840.

King-Smith, P.E. (1973a). The optical density of erythrolabe determined by retinal densitometry using the self-screening method. Journal of Physiology, London, 230, 535-549.

King-Smith, P.E. (1973b). The optical density of erythrolabe determined by a new method. Journal of Physiology, London, 230, 551-560.

van der Kraats, J. (1995). unpublished. Miller, S.S. (1972). Psychophysical estimates of visual pigment densities in red-green dichromats. Journal of Physiology, London, 223, 89-107.

Pokorny, J. & Smith, V.C. (1976). Effect of field size on red-green colour mixture equations. Journal of the Optical Society of America 66, 705-708.

Ripps, H. & Weale, R.A. (1965). Analysis of foveal densitometry. Nature 205, 52-56.

Rushton, W.A.H. (1963). The density of chlorolabe in the foveal cones of the protanope. Journal of Physiology, London, 168, 360-373.

Smith, V.C. & Porkorny, J. (1973). Psychophysical estimates of optical density in human cones. Vision Research 13, 1199-1202.

Terstiege, H. (1967). Untersuchungen zum Persistenz- und Koeffizientesatz. Farbe 16, 1-120.

Walraven, P.L. & Bouman, M.A. (1960). Relation between diretional sensitivity and spectral response curves in human cone vision. Journal of the Optical Society of America 50, 780-784.

Wyszecki, G. & Stiles, W.S. (1980). High-level trichromatic color matching and the pigment-bleaching hypothesis. Vision Research 20, 23-37.

Zwas, F. & Alpern, M. (1976). The density of human rhodopsin in the rods. Vision Research 16, 121-127.