An examination of Ball's desaturation of intermittent monochromatic light in two patients with retinitis pigmentosa.
In 1971, Walters hypothesized that Bartley's brightness enhancement, the Broca-Sülzer phenomenon, and the desaturation of intermittent trains of short-wavelength monochromatic light (the Ball effect) were all the result of scotopic involvement at photopic levels. In support of this hypothesis, ERG data were presented showing the presence of a scotopic B-wave under conditions which normally did not produce them. In the present paper, data are presente from two patients with retinitis pigmentosa that seem to contradict Walters' hypothesis and to suggest the possibility of a more complex mechanism.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology; D012160:Retina / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012174:Retinitis Pigmentosa / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology