Vision Flashcards

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1
Q

The _____ and ____ focus light

A

cornea, lens

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2
Q

Refraction

A

The bending of light

Done by the cornea

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3
Q

Ciliary muscles

A

Adjust the focus of the eye by changing the shape of the lens

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4
Q

Accommodation

A

The process of focusing the lens

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5
Q

Pupil

A

Controls how much light enters the eye

Dilates or shrinks to adjust for light

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6
Q

Extraocular muscles

A

Control eye movements

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7
Q

Retina

A

Where visual processing begins
Contains several cell types

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8
Q

Photoreceptor cells

A

Light goes all the way to the back here first
Rods and cones

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9
Q

Bipolar cells

A

Light goes out to the bipolar cells; assisted by the horizontal cells

Receive input rom photoreceptors and synapse on ganglion cells

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10
Q

Ganglion cells

A

Light goes out to the ganglion cells; assisted by the amacrine cells

Axons from these cells form the optic nerve and exit the eye

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11
Q

Horizontal cells

A

In the retina
Contact photoreceptors and bipolar cells

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12
Q

Inside-out processing

A

Light goes to the back of the eye first and makes its way out

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13
Q

Photopic system

A

The one that uses cones
Good for color vision
Good for visual acuity and sharpness

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14
Q

Downside of photopic system

A

Require more light to be activated

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15
Q

Scotopic system

A

Uses rods
Works in dim light
Low visual acuity

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16
Q

Three general characteristics of the visual system

A

Sensitivity
Integration
Adaptation

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17
Q

Sensitivity

A

Weak stimuli are amplified to produce physiological effects

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18
Q

Integration

A

Takes time to integrate the stimuli, which makes vision relatively slow but increases sensitivity

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19
Q

Adaptation

A

The visual system is capable of adapting to a wide range of light intensities

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20
Q

Quanta

A

Unit of measurement for electromagnetic radiation that the visual system responds to

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21
Q

Each quantum has a _________

A

wavelength

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22
Q

Photons

A

Quanta of light energy with visible wavelengths

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23
Q

The visual system can deal with a wide range of light intensities by…

A
  • adjusting pupil size
  • range fractionation
  • photoreceptor adaptation
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24
Q

Range fractionation

A

Different intensities handled by different receptors

Low threshold are rods
High threshold are cones

25
Q

Photoreceptor adaptation

A

Ability of individual photoreceptors to adjust sensitivity to prevailing level of illumination

26
Q

Threshold for perception of color

A

Light intensity has to be above 10^-5 to activate cones to see color

27
Q

Visual acuity

A

Measure of how much detail we see and is sharpest in the center of the visual field, where the fovea is located

28
Q

Vision is sharpest at the fovea because…

A
  • there is a high density of tightly-packed cones
  • this region receives direct light input that does not pass through other cells
29
Q

Fovea

A

Indentation

Light reaches the cones without having to pass through blood vessels and other layers of cells

30
Q

Rods

A

Mostly present at the periphery (outside of fovea) to capture the light that comes in when we widen our pupil

31
Q

Optic disc

A

Where blood vessels and the optic nerve leave the eye, resulting in no photoreceptors

32
Q

Blind spot

A

Due to lack of photoreceptors in the optic disc

33
Q

Why don’t we see a hole in our vision?

A

Our eyes are constantly moving around and our brain fills in that picture for us

34
Q

Rods are absent from the fovea

A

They are more numerous in the periphery and are more sensitive to dim light than cones are

35
Q

Why does the pupil dilate under low illumination?

A

Helps to let in light to activate the rods

36
Q

Saccades

A

Our eyes are constantly shifting a little bit to prevent adaptation of making the scene disappear

37
Q

Lateral inhibition

A

A process where interconnected neurons inhibit their neighbors and produce contrast

38
Q

Axons from retinal ganglion cells exit the eye and form the optic nerve; some cross at the _____________

A

optic chiasm

39
Q

After passing the optic chiasm, the axons of the optic nerve are called the __________

A

optic tract

40
Q

Left visual field…

A

hits the right side of both eyes

Sent to the right visual cortex for processing

41
Q

Right visual field…

A

hits the left side of each eye

Sent back to the left visual cortex for processing

42
Q

After optic tract…

A

Info goes to thalamus for processing

Then goes to primary visual cortex

43
Q

Nasal hemiretina

A

Portion of retina closest to the nose

Projects its axons to contralateral side of the brain

44
Q

Temporal hemiretina

A

Lateral portion of the retina

Projects its axons to the ipsilateral side (same side) of the brain

45
Q

Most axons in the optic tract synapse on cells in the _____________ of the thalamus

A

lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)

46
Q

Optic radiations

A

Made by axons of postsynaptic cells in the LGN

Terminate in the primary visual cortex (also called the striate cortex and the occipital lobe)

47
Q

Damage at the level of retina

A

Blindness
No transduction of light energy

48
Q

Damage at the cortex

A

Individual can see something but cannot identify what it is

49
Q

Where your eyes converge

A

Best acuity (when you’re looking forward)

Acuity falls off toward the periphery of the visual field

50
Q

Visual field

A

The whole area you can see without moving your head or eyes

51
Q

Which animal below has a wider visual field? Why?

A

Visual field for rabbit is very wide since eyes are on sides of head

52
Q

Which animal has better visual acuity? What makes it so?

A

Owl, because there is more overlap between vision of both eyes

53
Q

Evolutionarily, why might this be the case for the rabbit?

A

He can identify that something is coming and quickly get out of the way

54
Q

Trichromatic hypothesis of color perception

A

Three types of cones

Each cone has a different type of opsin, or photopigment, that respond to the different part of the spectrum

55
Q

Trichromatic theory– cone sensitivity

A

Short: peak sensitivity at 420 nm
Medium: 530 nm
Long: 560 nm

56
Q
A
57
Q

Color blindness

A

Due to absence of cones sensitive to medium-wavelength light (M cones)

Mostly in men (women can be carriers)

57
Q

Amblyopia

A

Reduced visual acuity; one eye is stronger

57
Q

Myopia

A

Nearsightedness; occurs if the eyeball is too long

Image hits in the middle of the eyeball instead of the fovea

Glasses help correct so that the image hits the back of the eye