Cones survive rods in the light-damaged eye of the albino rat.
Exposure to constant light causes extensive rod photoreceptor damage but spares the photopic system in albino rats. The rod branch of the dark-adaptation curve shows considerable elevation in threshold; the cone branch is hardly affected. Longer exposure and chromatic adaptation suggest that there are three cone mechanisms with peaks near wavelengths of 450,520, and 560 nanometers.
D000818:Animals; D003623:Dark Adaptation; D008027:Light; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*; D051381:Rats; D013057:Spectrum Analysis