Different atoms and molecules emit photons of different wavelengths, which is why we see different colors. Research has shown that direct electric and magnetic stimulation of the brain can trigger phosphenes, and Bókkon hopes to soon be able to prove that biophotons are responsible for these phosphenes as well.ĭepending on where a phosphene originates, it can take on a variety of shapes, patterns and colors. According to Bókkon, phosphenes can originate in various other parts of the visual system, too. When a reconstructed image looks like nonsense, the brain is quick to label the image as unreal, or a phosphene.īut that information doesn’t always come from your retinas. Here, the brain reconstructs an image using the information received from the eyes. These signals travel through the optic nerve to a part of the brain called the visual cortex. Inside the retina, millions of tiny cells called rods and cones collect light and convert it into electrical signals. “But they are mostly absorbed locally.” Almost all of the biophotons you see are the ones both emitted and absorbed by atoms in the retina - the part of your eye responsible for detecting light. “When you rub your eyes, this generates biophotons in many parts of the eyes,” explained Bókkon. Our eyes actually produce far more biophotons than we end up seeing as phosphenes. Either way, your optic nerve simply relays these light signals to the brain, which must then decide if it accurately represents the real world around you, or if it’s just a phosphene. Your eyes can’t tell the difference between photons from outside light and the biophotons emitted by your own atoms. This photon exchange is just a part of normal cellular function. “We see biophotonic light inside our eyes in the same way we see photons from external light,” said István Bókkon, a Hungarian neuroscientist who works at the Vision Research Institute in Lowell, Massachusetts.īiophotons exist in your eyes because your atoms constantly emit and absorb tiny particles of light, or photons.
In the same way that fireflies and deep-sea creatures can glow, cells within our eyes emit biophotons, or biologically produced light particles. But not ordinary light - this light comes from inside your eyes.
These strange blobs you see have a name they’re called “phosphenes,” and researchers believe that actual light may play a role. While you might appreciate the bedtime entertainment, in the back of your drowsy mind you’ve probably wondered what the heck you’re even seeing. A few seconds later, the colors settle down again. When you rub the sleep from your weary eyes, the lights suddenly intensify and bursts of bright colors appear all across your field of vision. How does colorblindness work? Claire Maldarelli Īs you settle into bed at night, close your eyes and begin to doze off, you may notice the colorful light show happening inside your eyelids.
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