Magnetophosphene

Magnetophosphenes are flashes of light (phosphenes) that are seen when one is subjected to a changing magnetic field such as when in an MRI.

This changing field causes current within the retina or visual cortex resulting in the illusion of light.

[1] In one series, 8 out of 1023 people having an MRI experienced flashing lights.

[2] Magnetophosphenes have been proposed as an explanation for ball lightning.

This article about magnetic resonance imaging is a stub.