A nonlinear integral equation for visual impedance.

The Hartline-Ratliff equation is a linear integral equation of the second kind and is employed in modeling inhibitory networks. Saturation of the inhibiting elements is commonly modeled as a function whose form is sigmoid; however, the resulting integral equation is nonlinear. Whenever the unknown function within the integral is hypothesized to be a nondecreasing nonlinear function, the Hartline-Ratliff equation becomes a nonlinear integral equation of the Hammerstein type. We present existence and uniqueness theorems for a Hammerstein equation which represents a further generalization of the Hartline-Ratliff equation.