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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Ex Vivo OCT-Based Multimodal Imaging of Human Donor Eyes for Research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Published on: May 26, 2023
Scotopic foveal afterimages
David H Hubel1, Piers D L Howe, Amanda M Duffy
1Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 225 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. david_hubel@hms.harvard.edu
Abstract:
If, after being in the dark for many minutes, one views an extended surface under dim (scotopic) illumination, one fails to see any hint of the dark spot at the center of gaze that might be expected from the absence of rods in the fovea. Here we report that, if the surface is suddenly completely darkened, one sees for a few seconds a relatively bright spot, about 2 deg in size, at the point of fixation. If the surface is now restored to its original brightness, a dark spot of similar size appears where one fixates, that again lasts for several seconds. All this can be observed with no elaborate apparatus.
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