the image that remains after a stimulus is removed
Afterimage An afterimage is an image that continues to appear in one's vision after the exposure to the original image has ceased. An afterimage may be a normal phenomenon (physiological afterimage) or may be pathological (palinopsia). Illusory palinopsia may be a pathological exaggeration of physiological afterimages. Afterimages occur because photochemical activity in the retina continues even when you are no longer experiencing the original stimulus.[1][2] The remainder of this article refers to physiological afterimages. A common physiological afterimage is the dim area that seems to float before one's eyes after briefly looking into a light source, such as a camera flash. Afterimages are a common symptom of visual snow.