Definition
- Phototransduction is the conversion of light energy absorbed by retinal photopigments into a hyperpolarizing photoreceptor potential in rods and cones.
- Rhodopsin, the rod photopigment, has peak spectral sensitivity at 500 nm.
Structure of Photoreceptors
- Rod outer segments contain stacked membrane disks bearing rhodopsin; cone outer segments are membrane infoldings bearing one of three cone pigments.
Structure of rod and cone photoreceptors