Visual Perception Flashcards
why is colour important?
aids discrimination and detection
Important in many key tasks:
- When choosing what to eat.
- Scene segmentation.
- Visual memory.
- Mating rituals.
- Camouflage.
what is Hue (H)?
the quality that distinguishes red from blue, i.e., the hues of the rainbow
what is Brightness (V)?
the perceived intensity of light (sometimes lightness).
What is saturation (S)?
characterizes a colour as pale or vibrant.
what is colour?
- subjective
- objects appear coloured because they reflect different wavelengths of light from different parts of the visible spectrum
- a property of our neural apparatus - need to have the correct photoreceptors and neurons to see colour
what is a metamer?
- sensory stimulus that is perceptually identical to another stimuli, but physically different (e.g. a light that appears orange is indistinguishable than a combination of red and yellow light)
- suggests the visual system is producing identical neural responses to physically different stimuli
how is colour coded in the retina?
in the photoreceptors the cone cells and their photopigments properties
what are the 3 cone types?
- S cones (short λ, blue); peak absorption at 420nm.
- M cones (medium λ, green); peak absorption at 530nm.
- L cones (long λ, red); peak absorption at 565nm.
what is the principle of univariance?
- how one can discriminate between wavelengths through comparison of multiple photoreceptors
- If the intensity of λA is the same as λB, then there will be a different response from the cell to the different light
- But if the intensity of λA is about 2x the intensity of λB, then the response from the cell will be the same to both.
how does wavelength discrimination improve?
- with the number of clone classes
- dichromats = 2 pigments
- humans = trichromats (3 cone types S, M, L)
what is opponent coding theory?
colours are grouped into opposing pairs (blue and yellow, red and green)
what is retinal topography? (cone mosaic)
layout of cone cells on the retina
1. There are far fewer S cones (blue) than M or L
2. There are no S cones in the fovea
3. They are randomly distributed, but clumping is common.
4. The layout and relative proportions of cones is largely individual, e.g., some will have roughly equal amounts of L and M comes, while others will have a L:M ratio of 4:1.
what are Parvocellular RGCs?
P-type retinal ganglion cells project to the parvocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus.
what is the physiology of opponency?
- Parvocellular RGCs have chromatically opponent RFs (centre-surround antagonism)
- have ON and OFF versions
- e.g. The centre may be excited by red light, while the inhibitory surround is excited by green light
how does colour tuning work in the LGN?
- LGN layers 1 & 2 get their input from M RGCs: input for achromatic luminance channel.
- Layers 3-6 get theirs from P RGCs: input for the two chromatic channels, called cardinals.
how does colour tuning work in the visual cortex?
- cortical cells show a preference for a wide range of hues, not just the cardinals
- Tuning width remains fairly consistent across cortical areas (V1, V2, V3).
what is colour constancy?
the ability to assign a fixed colour to an object even though the actual spectral information entering the eye changes in different illumination conditions
what is acquired colour vision definicy?
(cerebral achromatopsia) is typically due to damage to V4.