The adjustable “pinhole camera” eye ofNautilus

✍ Scribed by Hurley, Ann C. ;Lange, G. David ;Hartline, Peter H.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 488 KB
• Volume: 205
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402050106

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The “pinhole camera” eye of the chambered nautilus, Nautilus pompilius, contains an adjustable pupil which dilates or constricts in response to changes in light intensity. The dynamics of this pupillary reflex were studied. Closing times for the pupil in response to a sudden increase in light intensity were on the order of ninety seconds. Opening times in response to decreased light intensity were approximately fifty seconds. Stimulation of one eye would cause a constriction of the pupil in the unstimulated eye. The time course of this response was different from that seen in the ipsilateral stimulation experiments.