Question

Suppose we find a retinal ganglion cell that is excited (i.e., increases its firing rate) when "blue" (i.e. short wavelength) light falls in its receptive field. It is likely that this cell will be inhibited when_________ falls in its receptive field.

A. ""yellow", but not "red" or "green" light".

B. ""green", but not "red" or "yellow" light".

C. ""red", " green", or "yellow" light".

D. ""red", but not "green" or "yellow" light".

Answer 1

D. ""red", but not "green" or "yellow" light".

Retinal cells that respond to Blue light will likely be activated by Green and Yellow wavelengths as well since these wavelengths are adjacent to the Blue band. Light absorption by cells in the eye does not occur at a single wavelength, and therefore, it is unlikely for a ganglion to be inhibited by Yellow or Green Light.

However, Red light is very high wavelength light, and will therefore likely inhibit this cell type. This is because this cell type will not absorb red light very effectively.