Chapter 3

Question 1

what are photoreceptors

Answer 1

cells that transduce light energy into a neural signal

Question 2

what is the primary visual cortex

Answer 2

the area at the back of the brain that is primarily responsible for basic processing of visual information

Question 3

what is retinotopic

Answer 3

a principle of organization of the primary visual cortex, where information falling on adjacent areas of the retina is processed in adjacent areas of the cortex

Question 4

what is achromatopsia

Answer 4

a visual deficit characterized by the inability to perceive colour because of damage to the area of the brain that processes colour information

Question 5

what is akinetopsia (motion blindness)

Answer 5

inability to perceive the motion of objects

Question 6

what is Ventral (“what”) pathway

Answer 6

The stream of visual processing in the brain that is responsible for determining object shape, color, and meaningful identity

Question 7

what is Dorsal (“where”) pathway

Answer 7

The stream of visual processing in the brain that is responsible for determining object location and motion, and which guides action

Question 8

what is Fusiform face area (FFA)

Answer 8

An area in the inferior temporal cortex that is responsible for the conscious recognition of faces

Question 9

what is Prosopagnosia

Answer 9

A selective deficit in the ability to consciously recognize faces resulting from damage to the FFA

Question 10

what is Parahippocampal place area (PPA)

Answer 10

An area in the ventral stream that is responsible for the conscious recognition of places

Question 11

what is Extrastriate body area (EBA)

Answer 11

An area in the ventral stream that is involved in processing non-facial body parts

Question 12

perceptual grouping

Answer 12

The process by which visual components are organized into whole objects based on certain principles, such as similarity, proximity, symmetry, and parallelism

Question 13

gestalt psychology

Answer 13

A psychological approach emphasizing that perception is holistic, focusing on whole objects rather than their individual components. It posits that the context in which visual components are embedded influences their perception

Question 14

gestalt principle: similarity

Answer 14

Visual features that are similar in color, size, or orientation tend to be grouped together

Question 15

gestalt principle: proximity

Answer 15

Visual components that are close to one another are perceived as a group

Question 16

gestalt principle: symmetry

Answer 16

Symmetrical lines or shapes are perceived as part of a single group or whole

Question 17

gestalt principle: parallelism

Answer 17

Lines that are parallel or similar in orientation are perceived as belonging together

Question 18

figure-ground segmentation

Answer 18

The separation of a visual scene into a main object (figure) and the background (ground)

Question 19

denotivity

Answer 19

The degree to which an object is meaningful and familiar to an observer, influencing figure-ground segmentation

Question 20

jumbled word effect

Answer 20

The phenomenon where people can still read words in a sentence even when some letters are mixed up, due to contextual and experiential cues

Question 21

word superiority effect

Answer 21

The finding that it is easier to perceive a letter correctly when it appears in a real word compared to a non-word or alone

Question 22

empirical theory of colour vision

Answer 22

A theory suggesting that color perception is influenced by prior experience with how different illuminations affect colors, not just by the wavelengths of light reflected from surfaces

Question 23

What is optic ataxia?

Answer 23

A condition characterized by a deficit in the ability to successfully reach for objects, especially when they are presented in the periphery of vision, with unimpaired ability to identify them

Question 24

Define the theory of ecological optics

Answer 24

The proposition that perception results from direct contact of the sensory organs with stimulus energy emanating from the environment and that an important goal of perception is action

Question 25

What is topological breakage?

Answer 25

The discontinuity created by the intersection of two textures, providing information about the edges of objects