CH 5.2 Key Terms Flashcards
astigmatism
a decreased responsiveness to one direction of line or another, caused by an asymmetric curvature of the eyes
blindsight
the ability to respond in limited ways to visual information without perceiving it consciously
complex cells
type of visual cortex cell located in areas V1 and V2 that responds to a pattern of light in a particular orientation anywhere within its large receptive field
End-stopped
type of visual cortex cell that resembles complex cells; responds best to stimuli of a precisely limited type, anywhere in a large receptive field, with a strong inhibitory field at one end of its field
horizontal cells
type of cell that receives input from receptors and delivers inhibitory input to bipolar cells
feature detectors
neurons whose responses indicate the presence of a particular feature
lateral geniculate nucleus
thalamic nucleus that receives incoming visual information
koniocellular neurons
small ganglion cells that occur throughout the retina
lateral inhibition
the reduction of activity in one neuron by activity in neighboring neurons
magnocellular neurons
large cell bodies with large receptive fields that are distributed evenly throughout the retina
parvocellular neurons
small cell bodies with small receptive fields in or near the fovea PCP. See Phencyclidine
primary visual cortex
area of the cortex responsible for the first stage of visual processing
retinal disparity
the discrepancy between what the left and right eyes see
receptive field
the area in visual space that excites or inhibits any neuron
sensitive period
time early in development when experiences have a particularly strong and enduring influence
simple cell
type of visual cortex cell that has a receptive field with fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones
strabismus
(or strabismic amblyopia or lazy eye) a condition in which the eyes do not point in the same direction
