Chapter 3: Visual Perception Flashcards
Cornea
Transparent tissue at the front of each eye, plays a key role in focusing incoming light
Lens
Works with cornea, muscles control the degree of curvature of the lens, allowing a sharp image to appear on the retina
Retina
Light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eyeball
Photoreceptors
Cells on retina that are sensitive to light and that respond when stimulated by light
Rods
Type of photoreceptors, sensitive to very low light levels but that are unable to discriminate hues and have poor acuity
Cones
Photoreceptors that are able to discriminate hues and have high acuity, concentrated in the retina’s fovea and become less frequent in visual periphery
Acuity
Ability to see fine detail
Fovea
Center of the retina, region of best acuity, looking at an object involves lining it up with the fovea
Bipolar cells
Type of neuron in the eye, receive input from photoreceptors and transmit output to the retinal ganglion cells
Ganglion cells
Type of neuron in the eye, receive input from bipolar cells and the axons of ganglion cells gather to form the optic nerve, carrying info back to LGN
Optic nerve
Bundle of nerve fibers, formed from the ganglion cells, carries info from eyes to brain
Lateral geniculate nucleus LGN
Located in the thalamus, an important 1st stop for visual information traveling into the brain
Lateral inhibition
A pattern in which cells, when stimulated, inhibt the activity of neighboring cells, creating edge enhancement
Edge enhancement
Process created by lateral inhibition in which the neurons give exaggerated responses to edges of surfaces
Mach bands
An illusion in which one perceives a region to be darker or lighter if its adjacent region is lighter or darker
Think about edge enhancement!
Single-cell recording
A technique for recording moment-by-moment activation level of individual neurons