Interactions between rod and cone channels above threshold: a test of various models

Brightness-matching and magnitude estimation data were obtained to test alternative explanations of the rod-cone interaction above threshold. Steady adapting fields were selected such that 500 and 640 nm test flashes presented in the parafovea stimulated largely the rod and cone systems, respectively. In the brightness-matching experiment stimuli of combined 500 and 640 nm light were matched to a white foveal standard flash set at various levels above threshold. Similarly, in the magnitude estimation experiment, brightness estimates were obtained for single 500 and 640 nm flashes as well as for super-imposed combination flashes. Combination stimuli appeared brighter than their individual components. Overall, the results suggest that rod and cone signals elicited by a single flash combine in an excitatory fashion; there is no evidence for rod-cone inhibition in this study. Further, the results for the suprathreshold and threshold conditions are qualitatively similar. The signals from the rod and cone systems combine less well than signals within a system but to a greater degree than predicted by probability summations or vector addition models.