FIERY RINGS OF PURKINJE

   The eponym fiery rings of Purkinje refers to the Bohemian physiologist Johannes Evangelista Purkyne (1787-1869), who is credited with being the first to describe the concomitant phenomenon in his textbook of 1823. The phenomenon consists of two large rings that can be seen after rapid convergence movements of the eyes, especially in a dark environment. It is classified as atypeof* convergence phosphene, which is in turn classified as an * entoptic phenomenon or a * physiological illusion. Because of its occurrence in a dark environment, the phenomenon is also classified as a * closed-eye hallucination (although the term closed-eye illusion might be more appropriate). The mediation of this phenomenon is associated with the stretching of the optic nerve and the region of the papillae. The term fiery rings of Purkinje is used in opposition to *dumbbell phosphene. Conceptually and phenomenologically, it is considered closely akin to * Moore's lightning streaks and the *flick phosphene.

   References

   Purkyne, J.E. (1823). Beobachtungen und Versuche zur Physiologie der Sinne I.Prague: Calve.

   Tyler, C.W. (1978). Some new entoptic phenomena. Vision Research, 18, 1633-1639.