Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography was used to both qualitatively and quantitatively examine retinal laminar integrity and confocal adaptive-optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy was used to directly probe photoreceptor mosaic architecture in order to determine (1) whether oligocone trichromacy and RGS9/R9AP-associated retinopathy could be discerned at the cellular level, and (2) whether the generalized retinal dysfunction in RGS9/R9AP-associated retinopathy is secondary to cone cell loss/structural deficit or a functional deficit in otherwise intact receptors. Here, RGS9 is linked to retinal disorder.