What chemical is primarily associated with night vision?

The chemical primarily associated with night vision is rhodopsin. Rhodopsin is a light-sensitive pigment found in the photoreceptor cells of the retina, specifically in the rod cells, which are responsible for vision in low-light conditions. When light hits rhodopsin, it undergoes a chemical change that initiates a series of events leading to visual signals being sent to the brain.

In low-light conditions, the rod cells contain high concentrations of rhodopsin, allowing them to be incredibly sensitive to light, which is essential for night vision. Rhodopsin absorbs photons and enables the detection of light, contributing significantly to a person’s ability to see in darkness.

Other options such as iodopsin, photopsin, and opsin pertain to vision under brighter light conditions or color vision but do not play the primary role associated with night vision like rhodopsin does. For example, iodopsin is found in cone cells and is responsible for color vision in bright light, while photopsin has a similar function and is associated with color perception. Opsins refer to a broader group of proteins involved in light detection but do not specifically denote the night vision pigment.

Thus, rhodopsin is recognized