Week 8 Readings Flashcards
What is electromagnetic energy?
Pulses of energy waves that can carry information from place to place
What is wavelength?
The distance between one wave peak and the next wave peak
our eyes detect only the range from about ____ to ____ billionths of a meter, the part of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the _____________.
our eyes detect only the range from about 400 to 700 billionths of a meter, the part of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the visible spectrum.
What is the visible spectrum?
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes detect (only the range from about 400 to 700 billionths of a meter)
Through what does light enter the eye?
the cornea
What is the cornea?
A clear covering that protects the eye and begins to focus the incoming light
What is the iris?
The coloured part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil by constricting or dilating in response to light intensity
When we enter a dark movie theatre on a sunny day, for instance, muscles in the iris ___ (1) the pupil and allow more light to enter. Complete adaptation to the dark may take up to ____ (2) minutes.
- a) open b) close
- a) 10
b) 14
c) 15
d) 20
e) 30
When we enter a dark movie theatre on a sunny day, for instance, muscles in the iris open the pupil and allow more light to enter. Complete adaptation to the dark may take up to 20 minutes.
What is the lens?
A structure that focuses the incoming light on the retina
What is the retina?
Cell layer in the back of the eye containing photoreceptors.
What is visual accommodation?
The process of changing the curvature of the lens to keep the light entering the eye focused on the retina
How do rays from the left side of an image interact with the retina?
Rays from the left side of an image strike the right part of the retina, and vice versa.
How does the image on the retina differ from our final perception?
The image projected on the retina is flat, but our final perception of the image is three-dimensional.
Why is the image on the retina upside down and backward?
The rays from the image strike opposite sides of the retina, causing the image to be upside down and backward.
What happens when the focus is in front of the retina?
When the focus is in front of the retina, the person is nearsighted.
What happens when the focus is behind the retina?
When the focus is behind the retina, the person is farsighted.
How do eyeglasses and contact lenses correct vision problems like nearsightedness and farsightedness?
Eyeglasses and contact lenses correct vision problems by adding another lens in front of the eye to adjust the focus.
How does laser eye surgery correct vision?
Laser eye surgery corrects vision by reshaping the eye’s own lens to properly focus light on the retina.
What is nearsightedness?
When the focus is in front of the retina
What is farsightedness?
When the focus is behind the retina
What is the optic nerve?
A collection of millions of ganglion neurons that sends vast amounts of visual information, via the thalamus, to the brain
What are the receptor cells in the retina that respond to light?
The receptor cells are known as rods and cones.
After rods and cones are activated, which cells do they activate next in the retina?
They activate the bipolar cells.
Which cells gather together to form the optic nerve?
The ganglion cells gather together and form the optic nerve.
What is the optic nerve, and what is its function?
The optic nerve is a collection of millions of ganglion neurons that sends visual information to the brain via the thalamus.
Why are the retina and optic nerve considered an extension of the brain?
The retina and optic nerve actively process and analyze visual information, making them extensions of the brain itself.
What do colors rods specialize in detecting?
Rods specialize in detecting black, white, and gray colors.
How many rods are there in each eye, and what is their function?
There are about 120 million rods in each eye, and they help us see in dim light, especially at night.
Where are rods primarily located, and how do they contribute to vision?
Rods are located primarily around the edges of the retina, making them particularly active in peripheral vision.
What do cones specialize in detecting?
Cones specialize in detecting fine detail and colors.
How many cones are there in each eye, and when do they function best?
There are about 5 million cones in each eye, and they function best in bright light.
Where are cones primarily located?
Cones are primarily located in and around the fovea, the central point of the retina.
What are cones?
Photoreceptors of the retina sensitive to color. Located primarily in the fovea.
What are rods?
Photoreceptors of the retina sensitive to low levels of light. Located around the fovea.
What is the fovea?
The central point of the retina
What did Margaret Livingstone (2000) discover about the perception of the Mona Lisa’s smile, and how do rods and cones play a role?
Livingstone found that the Mona Lisa’s smile appears more cheerful when viewers focus on her eyes rather than her mouth.
This effect occurs because the smile’s low-detail brush strokes are better perceived by peripheral vision, which relies on rods.
When viewers look directly at her mouth, the smile fades, similar to how a dim star disappears when looked at directly.
How is visual information processed as it moves from the retina to the brain, and why is this beneficial?
Visual information from the retina is relayed through the thalamus to the visual cortex in the occipital lobe.
Unlike the principle of contralateral control, each eye sends information to both the left and right hemispheres, allowing both sides of the brain to process visual cues in parallel.
This is beneficial because if one eye is lost, both hemispheres still receive input from the remaining eye.
What causes the blind spot in our vision, and how does the visual system compensate for it?
The blind spot is caused by the absence of photoreceptor cells where the optic nerve leaves the retina.
When both eyes are open, the eyes compensate for each other’s blind spots.
If only one eye is open, the visual cortex fills in the blind spot with similar patterns from the surrounding areas, allowing us to perceive a continuous image without noticing the hole.
What is the blind spot?
A hole in our vision that is created because there are no photoreceptor cells at the place where the optic nerve leaves the retina
What are feature detector neurons?
Specialized neurons, located in the visual cortex, that respond to the strength, angles, shapes, edges, and movements of a visual stimulus
How do feature detector neurons in the visual cortex contribute to perception, and how do they work together to recognize objects?
Feature detector neurons in the visual cortex respond to different aspects of a visual stimulus, such as strength, angles, shapes, edges, and movements. These neurons work in parallel, each detecting specific features of the object, like lines and color. The information is then compared with stored images in memory, and when many neurons fire together, the brain creates a unified perception of the object, such as recognizing a red square.