RAT ELECTRORETINOGRAM: EVIDENCE FOR SEPARATE PROCESSES GOVERNING B-WAVE LATENCY AND AMPLITUDE.

Studies of the simultaneous changes in the latency and amplitude of the b-wave of the rat electroretinogram (ERG) under three different conditions of adaptation show that the latency is primarily a function of the absolute stimulus intensity, being only slightly affected by conditions that strongly reduce the amplitude. This implies that the latency and the amplitude are determined by two independent processes, with the latency-process more closely linked to the initial photochemical events. Furthermore, the different adaptation conditions have surprisingly similar effects on the shape and amplitude of the electroretinogram, which suggests that they all produce only one type of variation in the amplitudedetermining process.