Perception Key terms Flashcards
All-or-none –
A principle where a neuron either fires at full strength or not at all.
Amacrine cells( Retinal cells)
Retinal cells that help process visual information by connecting different neurons.
Anton’s syndrome( I can see)
A condition where blind individuals mistakenly believe they can see.
Anton’s syndrome –
A condition where blind individuals mistakenly believe they can see.
Area V5( region )
A brain region important for motion perception.
Attention
The cognitive process of focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others.
Balint’s syndrome( rare disorder)
A rare disorder causing difficulty in perceiving multiple objects at once and in visually guiding hand movements.
Binocular rivalry( presented)
When different images are presented to each eye, perception alternates between them.
Blindsight(The ability to respond to visual stimuli)
without conscious awareness, often due to V1 damage.
Blobs
Color-sensitive regions in the visual cortex involved in processing color information.
Center-surround structure
A type of receptive field where the center and surrounding areas respond oppositely to stimuli.
Change blindness
Failure to notice large changes in a visual scene.
Charles Bonnet syndrome( Visual hallucinations )
in people with significant vision loss.
Complex cells( edges and movement)
Visual cortex neurons that detect movement and edges without being sensitive to exact location.
Cones( color)
Photoreceptors responsible for color vision and detail in bright light.
Contrast enhancement
The visual system’s ability to emphasize differences between light and dark areas.
Cornea( transparent)
The transparent front part of the eye that helps focus light.
Dorsal stream( where)
The “where” pathway, involved in motion and spatial processing.
Feedback loops –
Cycles of information between brain areas that refine perception.
Fovea( Central part of the..)
The central part of the retina with the highest visual acuity.
Hemineglect( ignore)
A condition where individuals ignore one side of their visual field, often due to parietal lobe damage.
Inferotemporal cortex( recognition)
A brain region critical for object recognition.
Horizontal cells( integrate and regulate )
Retinal cells that help integrate and regulate signals from photoreceptors.
Internal model( past)
The brain’s prediction of sensory input based on past experiences.
Iris
The colored part of the eye that controls pupil size.
Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
A relay center in the thalamus that processes visual information from the retina.
Lens
The transparent structure in the eye that focuses light onto the retina
Loopiness( neural activity)
The recurrence of neural activity across multiple brain regions.
Mach bands( optical)
Optical illusions that exaggerate contrast at edges.
Magnocellular retinal ganglion cells( detect motion/shapes)
Retinal cells that detect motion and broad shapes but not color.
Motion blindness
An inability to perceive movement, often due to V5 damage.
Multistable percept( perception alternates)
A phenomenon where perception alternates between different interpretations of an image
Nasal hemiretina( inner of the retina/ hemisphere)
The inner half of the retina, where signals cross to the opposite brain hemisphere.
Ocular dominance columns( one eye more)
Stripes in the visual cortex that process input from one eye more than the other.
Optic chiasm( The point where/hemisperes)
The point where optic nerves partially cross, sending visual information to both hemispheres.
Optic nerve
The bundle of axons carrying visual information from the retina to the brain.
Optic radiations( LGN to)
Pathways that transmit visual signals from the LGN to the primary visual cortex.
Optic tracts( goes through the optic chaism)
Continuations of the optic nerves after they pass through the optic chiasm
Orientation tuned( responding to specific)
The property of visual neurons responding to specific edge orientations.
Parvocellular retinal ganglion cells( color and fine)
Retinal cells specialized for color and fine detail processing.
Perception
The brain’s interpretation of sensory input.
Photoreceptors
Light-sensitive cells in the retina (rods and cones).
Phototransduction
The process by which light is converted into neural signals.
Position invariance( recognize objects)
The ability to recognize objects regardless of their location in the visual field.
Primary visual cortex (V1)
The brain area responsible for the first stage of detailed visual processing.
Prosopagnosia (face blindness)
A condition where individuals cannot recognize faces.
Pupil
The opening in the eye that adjusts to control light entry
Receptive field
The area of visual space that a neuron responds to.
Recurrence
Repeated neural signaling that helps refine perception.
Retina
The light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that detects images
Retinal ganglion cells
Neurons that transmit visual information from the retina to the brain.
Reverse hierarchy( starts with high-level brain)
A model suggesting perception starts with high-level brain processing before refining details.
Rods
Photoreceptors that detect light and dark, important for night vision
Scotomas( retinal damage)
Blind spots in the visual field due to brain or retinal damage.
Secondary visual cortex (V2)
A brain region involved in further processing visual information from V1.
Sensation
The raw detection of stimuli from the environment.
Sensory transduction
The process of converting sensory stimuli into neural signals.
Simple cells( Visual neurons in V1 )
Visual neurons in V1 that respond to edges and bars in specific orientations.
Simultagnosia( Difficulty perceiving multiple)
objects at once, often part of Balint’s syndrome.
Sparse coding( few)
A neural representation where only a few neurons respond to a given stimulus.
