Rods and Cones of the Retina

The two main types of photoreceptors in the human retina are rods and cones. Rods are highly sensitive to dim light and support mostly monochrome twilight vision, but provide lower spatial resolution. Cones work best in brighter conditions, support color vision, and provide high detail, especially in the fovea. At intermediate light levels, rod and cone signals can interact. The brain processes these signals along with other visual information to create a coherent perception of a scene.