{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T18:55:31Z","timestamp":1772304931228,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]],"date-time":"2023-11-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1699228800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Waterloo Foundation","award":["1155-4723"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1155-4723"]}]},{"name":"Waterloo Foundation","award":["FOSS3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FOSS3"]}]},{"name":"Mother and Child Foundation","award":["1155-4723"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1155-4723"]}]},{"name":"Mother and Child Foundation","award":["FOSS3"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FOSS3"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Entropy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In George Wald\u2019s Nobel Prize acceptance speech for \u201cdiscoveries concerning the primary physiological and chemical visual processes in the eye\u201d, he noted that events after the activation of rhodopsin are too slow to explain visual reception. Photoreceptor membrane phosphoglycerides contain near-saturation amounts of the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The visual response to a photon is a retinal cis\u2013trans isomerization. The trans-state is lower in energy; hence, a quantum of energy is released equivalent to the sum of the photon and cis\u2013trans difference. We hypothesize that DHA traps this energy, and the resulting hyperpolarization extracts the energized electron, which depolarizes the membrane and carries a function of the photon\u2019s energy (wavelength) to the brain. There, it contributes to the creation of the vivid images of our world that we see in our consciousness. This proposed revision to the visual process provides an explanation for these previously unresolved issues around the speed of information transfer and the purity of conservation of a photon\u2019s wavelength and supports observations of the unique and indispensable role of DHA in the visual process.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/e25111520","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]],"date-time":"2023-11-06T13:24:53Z","timestamp":1699277093000},"page":"1520","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Docosahexaenoic Acid Explains the Unexplained in Visual Transduction"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"given":"Michael A.","family":"Crawford","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9515-9721","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrew J.","family":"Sinclair","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia"},{"name":"Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food, Monash University, Notting Hill, VIC 3168, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4225-3033","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yiqun","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Walter F.","family":"Schmidt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"given":"C. Leigh","family":"Broadhurst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7591-4219","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simon C.","family":"Dyall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Roehampton, London SW15 4JD, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Larry","family":"Horn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MPEG LA, LLC, Bethesda, MD 20816, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9494-4245","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J. Thomas","family":"Brenna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dell Pediatric Research Institute, Dell Medical School, Austin, TX 78723, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mark R.","family":"Johnson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition, Imperial College, London SW10 9NH, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocab":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,11,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"167","DOI":"10.1016\/S0021-9258(18)88553-2","article-title":"The necessity of certain lipins in the diet during growth","volume":"15","author":"McCollum","year":"1913","journal-title":"J. Biol. Chem."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"(2023, August 01). The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1967. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Tue. 17 Oct 2023. 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