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Updated: May 27, 2026

Transretinal ERG Recordings from Mouse Retina: Rod and Cone Photoresponses
Published on: March 14, 2012
Rod and cone visual pigments and phototransduction through pharmacological, genetic, and physiological approaches
1Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. kefalov@wustl.edu
Abstract:
Activation of the visual pigment by light in rod and cone photoreceptors initiates our visual perception. As a result, the signaling properties of visual pigments, consisting of a protein, opsin, and a chromophore, 11-cis-retinal, play a key role in shaping the light responses of photoreceptors. The combination of pharmacological, physiological, and genetic tools has been a powerful approach advancing our understanding of the interactions between opsin and chromophore and how they affect the function of visual pigments. The signaling properties of the visual pigments modulate many aspects of the function of rods and cones, producing their unique physiological properties.
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