Which retinal cells are responsible for color vision?

• A. Rods
• B. Ganglion cells
• C. Amacrine cells
• D. Cones

Answer: (D)

Cones in the retina mediate color vision. These photoreceptors come in three types, each with a peak sensitivity to different wavelengths, which lets the brain distinguish red, green, and blue light. When light hits the cones, they convert it to neural signals that are then processed by the retinal circuitry (bipolar and ganglion cells) and sent to the brain as color information. In contrast, rods are highly sensitive to light but provide only black-and-white vision in dim conditions, so they don’t contribute to color discrimination. Amacrine and ganglion cells are important for processing and transmitting visual signals, but the color-detecting receptors themselves are the cones.