= Electroretinography
\b[Electroretinography] records electrical responses generated by the <retina> when it is stimulated with light. In full-field <electroretinography>, diffuse flashes stimulate a broad retinal area, and an <electrode> at or near the eye records a potential difference relative to a recording reference. The trace is a summed response of retinal tissue, rather than a recording of one <photoreceptor> or a direct report of perceived brightness.<ISCEV Standard for full-field clinical electroretinography (2022 update) by Anthony G. Robson and others>[Sections on full-field stimulation, recording electrodes and standard responses.]{ref}
Dark-adapted and light-adapted recordings help distinguish response systems under controlled conditions. Standardization matters because flash strength, adaptation and electrode configuration change the trace. A simple experimental comparison uses the same flash and recording arrangement before and after an intervention: differences then become evidence about which retinal processes contribute, subject to the intervention's selectivity.<ISCEV Standard for full-field clinical electroretinography (2022 update) by Anthony G. Robson and others>[Dark-adapted and light-adapted standard-response protocols.]{ref}
The positive b-wave illustrates how component interpretation is tested. <Richard A. Stockton> and <Malcolm M. Slaughter> measured retinal field responses together with extracellular potassium changes in amphibian preparations. A drug that suppressed ON <retinal bipolar cell> responses also removed the b-wave; treatments suppressing OFF-pathway responses removed the light-offset d-wave while preserving the b-wave. This supported a central role for ON <retinal bipolar cell> activity in generating the b-wave, rather than treating all deflections as direct rod voltages.<B-wave of the electroretinogram. A reflection of ON bipolar cell activity by Richard A. Stockton and Malcolm M. Slaughter>[Abstract and selective pharmacological perturbations.]{ref}
An independent example is the <RPE65> knockout: disrupted <visual cycle> chemistry caused loss of normal rod responses on <electroretinography>, connecting pigment regeneration to a measurable tissue-level signal.<Rpe65 is necessary for production of 11-cis-vitamin A in the retinal visual cycle by T. M. Redmond and others>[Rod electroretinographic phenotype and retained cone function.]{ref}
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