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deviantbono t1_j47fcyk wrote

Reply to comment by Naive_Age_566 in What happens to a photon after it hits my eyeball? by NJdevil202

IIRC, when the energy in the photon is absorbed by the physical "detector", the "detector" changes shape, altering its output, but does NOT actually "send" a signal to the brain as a result, it actually STOPS sending a signal. That non-signal is then what is interpreted as visual meaning.

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CrateDane t1_j48indt wrote

The detector itself is technically part of the brain, as is all of the retina. It's true that the response of the cells that detect light is the opposite of normal neuron activation - hyperpolarization instead of depolarization. That gets swapped around before the signal leaves the retina though, along with some early processing taking place.

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