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Photopic spectral sensitivities for a foveal target on a white background are measured for 18 normal eyes, and the results are explained in terms of the function of retinal ganglion cells. Averaged results for diseases such as glaucoma, optic atrophy, tobacco amblyopia, and retrobulbar neuritis are reviewed, and an analysis of the change in shape of the spectral sensitivity curve in these diseases is presented. It is shown how the location of disease sites may be related to characteristic changes in spectral sensitivity.

A patient with established retrobulbar neuritis and Uhthoff's phenomenon who claimed that his visual acuity improved after drinking beer was assessed by detailed quantitative psychophysical tests. Studies of electrophysiological responses and biochemical levels of blood serum before and after drinking on several occasions were also made. The results of tests of contrast sensitivity, spectral sensitivity, flicker sensitivity, and visually evoked potential confirmed his observation. Some mechanisms for this phenomenon are considered.

Spectral sensitivities were measured in 18 normal eyes, 9 eyes in patients with senile macular degeneration, 4 patients with Stargardt's juvenile macular degeneration (JMD), and 2 patients without conclusive signs--that is, genetic or morphological abnormalities--to indicate the cause of loss of central vision. Spectral sensitivity, testing for which included measurements on white, yellow, purple, and blue backgrounds, is here used as an aid in differential diagnosis for cases of macular degeneration.