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Behavioural Neuroscience > The Visual System (3) > Flashcards

The Visual System (3) Flashcards

1
Q

Electromagnetic energy that we can see

A

Light

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2
Q

The white outer layer, the “eyeball

A

Sclera

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3
Q

The eye’s clear outer covering

A

Cornea

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4
Q

Reflects our eye colour

A

Iris

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5
Q

The black hole in the iris

A

Pupil

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6
Q

Focuses light rays

A

Lens

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7
Q

Nearsightedness

A

Myopia

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8
Q

Farsightedness

A

Hyperopia

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9
Q

“Old-sightedness”

A

Presbyopia

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10
Q

The eye does not focus light evenly on the retina

A

Astigmatism

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11
Q

What are the three main roles of photoreceptors?

A
  1. Convert light energy into action potentials
  2. Discriminate between wavelengths
  3. Distinguish between light intensities
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12
Q

What is the orientation of objects projected onto the retina relative to what we see?

A

Upside down and backwards

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13
Q

Region at the center of the retina that is specialized for high visual acuity

A

Fovea

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14
Q

Why is vision “sharpest” at the centre of the visual field rather than the outer areas?

A

Higher density of photoreceptors at the centre of the retina and slight depression at the fovea

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15
Q

Region of the retina where axons forming the optic nerve leave the eye and where blood vessels enter and leave

A

Blind spot

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16
Q

Intracranial pressure increase leading to the swelling of the optic disc

A

Papilledema

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17
Q

What is the energy conversion pathway enacted by the retina’s photoreceptors?

A

Light energy to chemical energy to neural activity

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18
Q

What are the characteristics of rods?

A
  1. Longer than cones, cylindrical
  2. More numerous than cones
  3. Sensitive to low light levels
  4. Used for night vision
  5. One type of pigment
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19
Q

What are the characteristics of cones?

A
  1. Tapered
  2. Sensitive to bright light
  3. Colour and high visual acuity
  4. Three types of pigment (red, blue, green)
  5. Randomly distributed across the retina
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20
Q

What are the four cell types in layer one of the retinal neurons?

A

Horizontal, bipolar, Amacrine, Muller

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21
Q

Links photoreceptors and bipolar cells

A

Horizontal cell

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22
Q

Receives input from photoreceptors

A

Bipolar cell

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23
Q

Links bipolar cells and retinal ganglion cells (layer two)

A

Amancrine cell

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24
Q

Glial cells that help channel light to the retina

A

Muller cell

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25
Q

Collection of axons at the optic disc that leave the eye and give rise to the optic nerve.

A

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)

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26
Q

What are the two major categories of RGCs?

A

Magnocellular cells, parvocellular cells

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27
Q

What are some characteristics of M-Cells?

A
  1. Large (magno)
  2. Layers 1 and 2 of LGN
  3. Receives input primarily from rods (no color)
  4. Sensitive to light and moving stimuli
  5. Throughout the retina, including periphery
28
Q

What are some characteristics of P-Cells?

A
  1. Small (parvo)
  2. Layers 3 to 6 of LGN
  3. Receives input primarily from cones
  4. Sensitive to colour and fine detail
  5. Mostly in fovea
29
Q

Describe the geniculostriate pathway

A

Retina, to the lateral geniculate nucleus (thalamus), to the primary visual cortex (occipital lobe), to extrastriate regions, then on to other cortical areas (temporal/parietal lobes)

30
Q

Which layers of the LGN receive input from which area of the retina?

A

Layers 1, 4, and 6: Input from contralateral retina
Layers 2, 3, and 5: Input from ipsilateral retina

31
Q

Describe the tectopulvinar pathway

A

Retina, to the superior colliculus (tectum), to the pulvinar (thalamus), then to the parietal and temporal visual areas

32
Q

Sends connections to the parietal lobe

A

Medial pulvinar

33
Q

Sends connections to the temporal lobe

A

Lateral pulvinar

34
Q

Pathway that originates in the occipital cortex and projects to the parietal cortex

A

Dorsal visual stream

35
Q

Pathway that originates in the occipital cortex and projects to the temporal cortex

A

Ventral visual stream

36
Q

What is the dorsal visual stream responsible for?

A

The how pathway (how action is to be guided toward objects)

37
Q

What is the ventral visual stream responsible for?

A

The what pathway (object recognition and identification)

38
Q

Primary visual cortex

A

Occipital lobe striate cortex (V1)

39
Q

Secondary visual cortex

A

Extrastriate cortex (V2 to V5)

40
Q

Upon arriving at V1, what categories are projections from the LGN segregated into?

A

Colour, form, motion

41
Q

What are the areas of the temporal lobe responsible for visual functions?

A

Fusiform face area, parahippocampal place area

42
Q

What is the FFA responsible for?

A

Recognizing faces

43
Q

What is the PPA responsible for?

A

Recognizing scenes

44
Q

What are the areas of the parietal lobe responsible for visual functions?

A

Lateral and anterior intraparietal areas, parietal reaching region

45
Q

What is the LIP responsible for?

A

Eye movements

46
Q

What is the AIP responsible for?

A

Visual control of grasping

47
Q

Region of the visual world that is seen by the eyes

A

Visual field

48
Q

What are the ways through which the brain determines location of visual information?

A
  1. Divided into left and right fields (side)
  2. RGC receptive fields (limited circular location)
  3. Light hits retina at specific locations depending on direction (more precise location)
  4. Segregation continues into LGN
  5. Topographic organization of V1 and beyond
49
Q

What happens to neurons in response to visual stimulation?

A

Increase or decrease firing rate (deviate from baseline)

50
Q

How is our perception of shape constructed?

A

Light information and edges (contrast)

51
Q

How do on and off-centre cells respond to light?

A

On-centre cells are excited when light hits centre portion of receptive field and inhibited when light falls onto periphery

Off-centre cells are excited when light falls on the periphery and inhibited when light falls on the centre

52
Q

The amount of light reflected by an object in contrast to its surroundings

A

Luminance contrast

53
Q

How do cells in V1 contribute to the perception of shape?

A

V1 neurons have much larger receptive fields than RGCs allowing them to respond to complex stimuli and perceive orientation by responding to bars of light in specific directions

54
Q

The colour we see is determined by the mixture of the responses of the three different cone types.

A

Trichromatic theory

55
Q

Theory that we perceive 4 basic colors in opposition

A

Opponent processes

56
Q

Destruction of the retina or optic nerve of one eye, producing loss of sight in that eye

A

Monocular blindness

57
Q

Blindness of an entire left or right visual field

A

Homonymous hemianopia

58
Q

Blindness of one quadrant of the visual field

A

Quandrantanopia

59
Q

Scotoma

A

Small blind spot in the visual field caused by small lesions in V1

60
Q

Hemiachromatopsia

A

No colour present in one visual field

61
Q

Blindsight

A

The ability of people who are cortically blind to respond to visual stimuli that they do not consciously see

62
Q

The inability to process sensory information, a loss of the ability to recognize objects, person, sounds, smells, etc

63
Q

Inability to recognize objects or drawings of objects

A

Visual-form (visual object) agnosia

64
Q

Generally, what results from injury to the ventral stream?

A

Issues with object recognition

65
Q

Generally, what results from injury to the dorsal stream?

A

Issues with visually guided movements

Behavioural Neuroscience (8 decks)

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