Chronic eyelid closure and its effect upon the human cone and rod electroretinogram.

The human rod and cone systems have different spectral and adaptive sensitivities. Ganzfeld electroretinogram responses show that chronic eyelid closure, such as extensive symblepharon, can lead to dark-adaptation of the rods but simultaneously permit light-adaptation of the cones of the same eye. This effect is due to the red-filtering properties of the closed eyelid and the differential sensitivity of the two photoreceptor systems to the long wavelengths.