I've only had the experience once, years ago, but I thought it was my retina detaching (based on the vague descriptions opthalmologists have given me my entire

I've only had the experience once, years ago, but I thought it was my retina detaching (based on the vague descriptions opthalmologists have given me my entire life). It was the middle of the night, so I went to the ER. They thought I was on drugs, then got angry with me for "self-diagnosing using Google" when I showed them an artist's impression of a scintillating scotoma and said that's what it must be. Mine was very colourful, and as the arc/spiral/ring grew, most of the inner part retained the unusual visual effect. I made an animated GIF at the time.[1] I remember distinctly that the edges were the pseudocolour that flickers rapidly between yellow and purple, like my perception of pressure phosphenes. I'm still very curious why it has such a specific appearance. Does it have something to do with the pattern of receptors on our retina? I know there are more numerous, closely-spaced receptors near the middle and fewer spaced further apart the closer to the outer edge, so I've assumed there was a connection, but haven't seen information either way. [1] Imagine a growing spiral made of thousands of triangles like these, with triangles closer to the middle smaller in size and larger toward the edges. Or alternatively, imagine the painting by Hubert Airy in the article, but made up of these triangles. >>> WARNING: not for people with sensitivity to rapidly flashing light! <<< http://www.beneaththewaves.net/aura.gif http://www.beneaththewaves.net/aura.gif