Chapter 3 Flashcards
Visual agnosia
An inability to identify objects visually even though they can be identified using other senses (eg. touch).
Perception
The processing of sensory information in such a way that it produces conscious experiences and guides action in the world.
Cornea
The outer tissue of the eye and the first layer that light passed through on its way to the back of the eye, where you’d put your contacts on.
Pupil
The space through which light passes on its way to the back of the eye; adjusted in size by the iris; to an observer the pupil appears black.
Iris
The tissue that surrounds the pupil and is responsible for the distinct colour of the eye.
Lens
The transparent tissue in the eye that refracts light and focuses it on the back of the eye.
Retina
The tissue at the back of the eye that contains light receptors.
Photoreceptors
Cells that transduce light energy into a neural signal.
Fovea
The region of the retina where photoreceptors are most densely packed.
Primary visual cortex
The area at the back of the brain that is primary responsible for the basic processing of visual information.
Retinotopic
A principle of organization of the primary visual cortex, whereby information falling on adjacent areas of the retina is processed in adjacent areas of the cortex. Visual processing is highly modular as this principle suggests.
Achromatopsia
A visual deficit characterized by inability to perceive colour because of damage to the area of the brain that processes colour information.
Akinetopsia (motion blindness)
An inability to perceive the motion of objects.
Ventral (“what”) pathway
The stream of visual processing in the brain that is responsible for determining object shape, colour, and meaningful identity.
Dorsal (“where”) pathway
The stream of visual processing in the brain that is responsible for determining object location and motion, and which guides action.
Feedforward sweep
The propagation of visual information from the primary visual cortex down the “what” and “where” pathways.
Re-entrant (feedback) connections
Connections between brain areas that allow the propagation of visual information from the endpoints of the “what” and “where” pathways back to the primary visual cortex.
Bottom-up influences
The feedforward influence of the external environment on the resulting perceptual experience.
Top-down influences
The feedback of context and the individual’s knowledge, expectations, and high-level goals on perceptual experience. Moves quicker than bottom-up influences.
Fusiform face area (FFA)
An area in the inferior temporal cortex that is responsible for the conscious recognition of faces. Located in the inferior temporal cortex.
Prosopagnosia
A selective deficit in the ability to consciously recognize faces resulting from damage to the FFA.
Percept
The visual experience of sensory information.
Parahippocampal place area (PPA)
An area in the ventral stream that is responsible for the conscious recognition of places.
Extrastriate body area (EBA)
An area in the ventral stream that is involved in processing non-facial body parts.
Pattern recognition
The ability to recognize an event as an instance of a particular category of event.
Memory trace
The trace that an experience leaves behind in memory.
Hoffding function
The process whereby an experience makes contact with a memory trace, resulting in recognition.
Feature detection theory
Detecting patterns on the basis of their features or properties.
Pandemonium
A model of pattern recognition consisting of three levels: data, cognitive demons, and decision demons.