Computational models of rod-driven retinal activity

The response of the human rod can be studied by fitting the a-wave of the ERG with a mathematical model. The parameters of this model can be related to parameters of the activation phase of phototransduction. Thus, one can study changes in transduction due to disease process, though if the disease affects some of the rod receptors more than others, care must be exercised in interpretation of these parameters. The rod-driven response from the second order cells of the retina cannot be quantitatively described with the same precision. However, this response can be described to a rough approximation by a computational model that captures both the a- and b-wave parameters. Changes in the b-wave produced by disease and by steady lights can be described by this model