The pupillary response to light in the turtle

Abstract

When intense adapting lights are turned off, the pupil of the turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans, enlarges. The recovery functions for pupillary dilation have different time constants that are defined by red- and green-sensitive cones and rods as they are affected by prior light adaptation and time in the dark. Pupillary area related to dilation responds over at least a three- to four-fold range. Following white-light adaptation, the course of pupil dilation in the dark shows a three-legged curve of differing time constants. With spectral-light adaptations, the contributions of separate classes of photoreceptors can be isolated. Red- and green-sensitive cones contribute shorter time constants of 3.31 and 3.65 min to prior white-light adaptation--4.81 and 4.18 min to prior spectral-light adaptations. Rods contribute a much longer time constant of 6.69 min to prior white-light adaptation--7.60 min to prior spectral-light adaptation. The ratios are in keeping with the flash sensitivities of photoreceptors in this same animal, as well as with psychophysical visual threshold mechanisms of color sensitivity.