Test 2 (Chapter 6) Flashcards

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1
Q

nanometers

A

billionths of a meter; light is between 380 and 760

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2
Q

infrared waves

A

wavelengths that are too long for humans to see but rattlesnakes can see them

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3
Q

wavelength

A

a property of light that plays in important role in the perception of color

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4
Q

intensity

A

a property of light that plays an important role in the perception of brightness

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5
Q

brightness

A

intensity of light

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6
Q

sensitivity

A

in vision, the ability to detect the presence of dimly lit objects

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7
Q

acuity

A

the ability to see the details of objects

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8
Q

retina

A

the amount of light that reaches this part of the eye is regulated by the irises

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9
Q

pupil

A

light enters the eye through this part of the eye which is a hole in the lens

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10
Q

iris

A

the donut-shaped bands of contractile tissue that gives our eyes their characteristic color

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11
Q

ciliary muscles

A

the eye muscles that control the shape of the lenses

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12
Q

accomodation

A

the process of adjusting the configuration of the lenses to bring images into focus on the retina

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13
Q

converge

A

turn slightly inward

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14
Q

binocular disparity

A

the difference in the position of the retinal image of the same object on the two retinas

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15
Q

receptors

A

cells that are specialized to receive chemical, mechanical, or radiant signals from the environment; also proteins that contain binding sites for particular neurotransmitters

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16
Q

horizontal cells

A

type of retinal neurons whose specialized function is lateral communication

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17
Q

bipolar cells

A

bipolar neurons that form the middle layer of the retina

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18
Q

amacrine cells

A

a type of retinal neurons whose specialized function is lateral communication

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19
Q

blind spot

A

the area on the retina where the bundle of axons on the retinal ganglion cells penetrate the receptor layer and leave the eye as the optic nerve

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20
Q

fovea

A

the central indentation of the retina, which is specialized for high-acuity vision

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21
Q

completion

A

the visual system’s automatic use of information obtained from receptors around the blind spot, or scotoma, to create a perception of the missing portion of the retinal image

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22
Q

surface interpolation

A

the process by which the visual system perceives large surfaces, by extracting information about edges and from it, inferring the appearance of adjacent surfaces

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23
Q

cones

A

the usual receptors in the retina that mediate high acuity color vision in good lighting

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24
Q

rods

A

the visual receptors in the retina that mediate achromatic, low-acuity vision under dim light

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25
Q

duplexity theory

A

the theory that cones and rods mediate photopic and scotopic vision, respectively

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26
Q

photopic vision

A

cone-mediated vision, which predominates when lighting is good

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27
Q

scotopic vision

A

rod-mediated vision, which predominates in dim light

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28
Q

nasal hemiretina

A

the half of each retina next to the nose

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29
Q

temporal hemiretina

A

the half of each retina next to the temple

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30
Q

spectral sensitivity curve

A

a graph of the relative brightness of light in the same intensity presented at different wavelengths

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31
Q

photopic spectral sensitivity curve

A

the graph of the sensitivity of cone-mediated vision to different wavelengths of light

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32
Q

scotopic spectral sensitivity curve

A

the graph of the sensitivity of rod-mediated vision to different wavelengths of light

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33
Q

Purkinje Effect

A

in intense light, red and yellow wavelengths look brighter than blue or green wavelengths of equal intesity, in dim light, blue and green wavelengths look brighter than red and yellow wavelengths of equal intensity

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34
Q

fixational eye movements

A

involuntary movements of the eyes (tremor, drifts, and saccades) that occur when a person tries to fix his or her gaze on (i.e., stare at) a point

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35
Q

saccades

A

the rapid movements of the eyes between fixations

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36
Q

transduction

A

the conversion of one of energy to another

37
Q

pigment

A

any substance that absorbs light

38
Q

rhodopsin

A

the photopigment of rods

39
Q

bleaching

A

loss of its color

40
Q

absorption spectrum

A

a graph of the ability of a substance to absorb light of different wavelengths

41
Q

retina-geniculate-striate pathways

A

the major visual pathway from each retina to the striate cortex (primary visual cortex) via the lateral geniculate nuclei of the thalamus

42
Q

primary visual cortex

A

the area of the cortex that receives direct input from the lateral geniculate nuclei

43
Q

lateral geniculate nuclei

A

the six-layered thalamic structures that receive inout from the retinas and transmit their output to the primary visual cortex

44
Q

retinotopic

A

organized, like the primary visual cortex, according to a map of the retina

45
Q

parvocellular layers

A

the layers of the lateral geniculate nuclei that are composed of neurons with small cell bodies; the top four layers (also called the p layers)

46
Q

magnocellular layers

A

the layers of the lateral geniculate nuclei that are composed of neurons with large cell bodies; the bottom two layers (also called m layers)

47
Q

mach bands

A

the nonexistent stripes of brightness and darkness running adjacent to the edges; they enhance the contrast at each edge and make the edge easier to see

48
Q

contrast enhancement

A

the intensification of the perception of edges

49
Q

lateral inhibition

A

inhibition of adjacent neurons or receptors in a topographic array

50
Q

receptive field

A

the area of the visual field within which it is possible for the appropriate stimulus to influence the firing of a visual neuron

51
Q

monocular

A

involving only one eye

52
Q

on-center cells

A

visual neurons that respond to lights share in the center of their receptive fields with “on” firing and to lights shone in the periphery of their field with “off” firing

53
Q

off-center cells

A

visual neurons that respond to lights shone in the center of their receptive fields with “off” firing and to lights shone in the periphery of their fields with “on” firing

54
Q

simple cells

A

neurons in the visual cortex that respond maximally to straight edge stimuli in a certain position and orientation

55
Q

complex cells

A

neurons in the visual cortex that respond optimally to straight edge stimuli in a certain orientation in any part of their receptive field

56
Q

binocular

A

involving both eyes

57
Q

ocular dominance

A

responding more robustly to stimulation of one eye than they do to the same simulation of the other

58
Q

retinal disparity

A

when a preferred stimulus is presented to both eyes at the same time but in slightly different positions on the two retinas

59
Q

component theory

A

the theory that the relative amount of activity produced in three different classes of cones by light determines its perceived color (aka trichromatic theory)

60
Q

opponent-process theory

A

the theory that a visual receptor of a neuron signals one color when it responds in one way (e.g., by increasing its firing rate) and signals the complementary color when it responds in the opposite way (e.g., by decreasing its firing rate)

61
Q

complementary colors

A

pairs of colors (e.g., green light and red light) that produce white or gray when combined in equal measure

62
Q

trichromats

A

possessing three color vision photopigments

63
Q

color constancy

A

the tendency of an object to appear the same color even when the wavelengths of light that it reflects change

64
Q

retinex theory

A

Land’s theory that the color of an object is determined by its reflectance, which the visual ability of adjacent surfaces to reflect short, medium, and long wavelengths

65
Q

dual-opponent color cells

A

neurons that respond to the differences in the wavelengths of light stimulating adjacent areas of their receptive field

66
Q

cytochrome oxidase

A

an enzyme present in particularly high concentrations in the mitochondria of dual-opponent color cells of the visual cortex

67
Q

blobs

A

peglike, cytochrome oxidase-rich, dual opponent color columns

68
Q

secondary visual cortex

A

areas of cerebral cortex that receive most of their input from primary visual cortex

69
Q

visual association cortex

A

areas of cerebral cortex that receive input from areas of secondary visual cortex as well as from secondary cortex other sensory systems

70
Q

prestriate cortex

A

the band of tissue in the occipital lobe that surrounds the primary visual cortex and contains areas of secondary visual cortex

71
Q

inferotemporal cortex

A

the cortex of the inferior temporal lobe, in which is located an area of secondary visual cortex that is involved in object recognition

72
Q

posterior parietal cortex

A

an area of association cortex that receives input from the visual, auditory, and somatosensory systems and is involved in the perception of spatial location and guidance of voluntary behavior

73
Q

scotoma

A

an area of blindness produced by damage to, or disruption of, an area of the visual system

74
Q

perimetry test

A

the procedure used to map scotomas

75
Q

hemianopsic

A

having a scotoma that covers half of the visual field

76
Q

conscious awareness

A

the ability to perceive one’s experiences; typically inferred from the ability to verbally describe them

77
Q

blindsight

A

the abilit of some patients who are blind as a consequence of cortical damage to unconsciously see some aspects of their visual environments

78
Q

dorsal stream

A

the group of visual pathways that flows from the primary visual cortex to the dorsal prestriate cortex to the posterior parietal cortex; according to one theory, its function is the control of visually guided behavior

79
Q

ventral stream

A

the group of visual pathways that flows from the primary visual cortex to the ventral prestriate cortex to the inferotemportal cortex; according to one theory, its function is conscious visual perception

80
Q

“where” vs. “what” theory

A

the theory that the dorsal stream mediated the perception of where things are and the ventral stream mediates the perception of what things are

81
Q

“control of behavior” vs. “conscious perception” theory

A

the theory that the dorsal stream mediates behavioral interactions with objects and the ventral stream mediates conscious perception of objects

82
Q

prosopagnosia

A

visual agnosia of faces

83
Q

agnosia

A

an inability to consciously recognize sensory stimuli of a particular class that is not attributable to a sensory deficit or to verbal or intellectual impairment

84
Q

visual agnosia

A

a failure to recognize visual stimuli that is not attributable to sensory, verbal, or intellectual impairment

85
Q

movement agnosia

A

difficulties in recognizing movement

86
Q

object agnosia

A

difficulties in recognizing objects

87
Q

color agnosia

A

difficulties in recognizing color

88
Q

fusiform face area

A

an area of human cortex, located at the boundary between the occipital and temporal lobes, that is selectively activated by human faces

89
Q

akinetopsia

A

a deficiency in the ability to perceive motion, which often results from damage to the dorsal visual pathway