Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

PSYC 302 Biological Pysc > Unit 5 Vision > Flashcards

Unit 5 Vision Flashcards

(95 cards)

Start Studying
1
Q

What is the process by which you see an object?

A

You see an object when it emits or reflects light that stimulates receptors that transmit information to the brain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

How does the brain encode visual information?

A

The brain encodes information based on which neurons are active and how active they are at any moment.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What does the Law of Specific Nerve Energies state?

A

Whatever excites a particular nerve always sends the same kind of information to the brain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Who proposed the Law of Specific Nerve Energies?

A

Johannes Muller (1838).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What happens if you rub your eyes?

A

You may see spots or flashes of light due to mechanical pressure exciting visual receptors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the pupil?

A

The opening in the center of the iris, where light enters the eye.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What focuses light in the eye?

A

The lens (adjustable) and cornea (not adjustable).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the retina?

A

The rear surface of the eye that is lined with visual receptors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What are bipolar cells?

A

A type of neuron in the retina that receives input directly from the receptors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What are ganglion cells?

A

A type of neuron in the retina that receives input from bipolar cells.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What forms the optic nerve?

A

Ganglion cell axons join to form the optic nerve that exits through the back of the eye.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the blind spot?

A

The point where the optic nerve leaves the eye and has no receptors.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the fovea?

A

The central portion of the retina, specialized for acute, detailed vision.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are midget ganglion cells?

A

Ganglion cells in humans and primate fovea that respond to a single cone.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What percentage of input to the brain does the fovea provide?

A

70% of input to the brain.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is the difference between foveal and peripheral vision?

A

Foveal vision has better acuity, while peripheral vision has better sensitivity to dim light.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What are the two types of visual receptors in the vertebrate retina?

A

Rods and cones.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What do rods respond to?

A

Faint light but are not useful in daylight.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What role do cones play in vision?

A

They are essential for color vision and more useful in bright light.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

How many rods and cones are there in the human retina?

A

~120 million rods and ~6 million cones.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are photopigments?

A

Chemicals that release energy when struck by light, found in both rods and cones.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is the Trichromatic (Young-Helmholtz) Theory?

A

Color perception comes from the relative responses of three cone types: short-wavelength (blue), medium-wavelength (green), and long-wavelength (red).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What does the Opponent-Process Theory propose?

A

We perceive color in terms of opposites, such as red vs. green, yellow vs. blue, and black vs. white.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What is color constancy?

A

The ability to recognize colors despite changes in lighting.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
What is color vision deficiency?
The inability to perceive color differences, often referred to as colorblindness.
26
What is the most common type of color vision deficiency?
Red-green deficiency.
27
How can genetic mutations affect color vision?
They can lead to missing or abnormal cone types.
28
What is tetrachromacy?
A 4-function cone system that some individuals may possess, allowing finer color discrimination.
29
retinex theory
the cortex compares information from various parts of the retina to determine the brightness and color of each area (
30
negative colour afterimage
a replacement of the red you had been staring at with green, green with red, and yellow and blue with each other, and black and white with each other.
31
What are the two types of photoreceptors in the retina?
Rods and cones
32
What do horizontal cells do in the retina?
Make inhibitory contact onto bipolar cells
33
What forms the optic nerve?
Axons of ganglion cells
34
At which point do the optic nerves meet?
Optic chiasm
35
What happens to half of the axons from each eye at the optic chiasm?
They cross to the opposite side of the brain
36
What is the lateral geniculate nucleus?
Part of the thalamus where most ganglion cell axons go
37
What is lateral inhibition?
Reduction of activity in one neuron by activity in neighboring neurons
38
What role does lateral inhibition play in visual processing?
Enhances contrast and emphasizes edges/borders
39
What is the approximate number of receptors in each eye?
~125 million
40
What does the term 'receptive field' refer to?
Area in visual space that excites or inhibits a cell
41
What are the three categories of primate ganglion cells?
* Paravocellular neurons * Magnocellular neurons * Koniocellular neurons
42
What is the primary visual cortex also known as?
Area V1 or striate cortex
43
What happens to individuals with damage to V1?
They report no conscious vision or visual imagery
44
What is the phenomenon of 'blindsight'?
Responding to visual information without perceiving it consciously
45
What type of cells respond best to bar-shaped stimuli in the primary visual cortex?
Simple cells
46
What do complex cells respond to?
Patterns of light in a particular orientation and movement in a specific direction
47
Describe the column structure of the visual cortex.
Cells organized into columns that are perpendicular to the cortical surface, containing cells with similar properties
48
What is a feature detector?
Neurons whose responses indicate the presence of a particular feature
49
What is the adaptation effect in visual perception?
Prolonged exposure reduces sensitivity to specific stimuli - support for feature detectors
50
What is the role of prenatal spontaneous retinal activity?
Helps synchronize neighboring receptors and form appropriate connections
51
What occurs if one eye of a kitten is closed during the first 4-6 weeks?
Synapses in the visual cortex become unresponsive to input from the deprived eye
52
What is strabismus?
A condition where the eyes point in different directions
53
What is the sensitive period in visual development?
When experiences have a particularly strong and enduring influence
54
What happens when a kitten wears goggles with horizontal lines during the sensitive period?
Visual cortex cells only become responsive to horizontal lines
55
Fill in the blank: The primary visual cortex processes ______.
Edges, orientation, motion
56
True or False: Cells within one column of the visual cortex process different types of information.
False
57
What type of video games improves eye coordination better than patching?
3D action video games requiring binocular attention ## Footnote Research indicates limited effect on depth perception.
58
What happens to visual cortex cells in kittens exposed to horizontal patterns during the early sensitive period?
They become responsive only to horizontal lines.
59
What is astigmatism?
Blurring of vision for lines in one direction caused by an asymmetric curvature of the eyes.
60
What percentage of infants have astigmatism?
70%.
61
What is the prevalence of astigmatism in 4-year-olds?
About 10%.
62
How does newborn vision develop?
At birth, infants see without understanding; vision develops with experience.
63
What are the initial challenges children face post-surgery for untreated cataracts?
Struggling to interpret visual information, such as recognizing objects by sight.
64
What is the rate of improvement in visual abilities after cataract surgery?
Rapid improvement with experience, including face recognition within weeks.
65
What visual abilities may never fully recover after cataract surgery?
Poor detail (acuity), motion, and depth perception.
66
What was significant about the case study of vision restored at age 43?
Lost sight at 3.5 years; could see color/shapes but struggled with recognition.
67
What difficulties did the individual from the case study face after vision restoration?
Never regained facial recognition, depth perception, and struggled with overlapping objects.
68
What is a key point regarding early visual experience?
It is essential for normal visual development; delays lead to permanent deficits.
69
parvocellular neurons
a type of primate ganglion cell, have small bodies and small receptive fields. They are mostly near forvea; well suited for detail and colour
70
why is the fovea highly sensitive to detail and colour
bc fovea has lots of cones
71
magnocellular neurons
a type of primate ganglion cell, have larger bodies and larger receptive fields. Distributed all over retina, strong strongly to movement and patterns
72
Koniocellular neurons
a type of primate ganglion cell, have small cell bodies and occur throughout retina, have several functions
73
74
simple cells
type of cell in primary visual cortex (V1), has a receptive field with fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones - respond best to bar & edge shaped stimuli, and specific orientations
75
end stopped/hypercomplex cells
type of visual cortex cell that resembles complex cells; responds best to stimuli of a precisely limited type, anywhere in a large receptive field, with a strong inhibitory field at one end of its field
76
what happens when eyes go through deprived experience during sensitive period
if one eye is closed at birth, after a few weeks may never become active again, effects depth percption, strabismus (lazy eye) can happen, auditory and sensory stimuli take over visual receptors
77
secondary visual cortex (V2)
receives info from V1 , processes the information further and transmits it to additional areas, branches out to areas for specialized processing
78
ventral stream
through the temporal cortex, perception/"what" pathway, important for identifying and recognizing objects
79
dorsal stream
through parietal cortex, the action pathway, or "how pathway", important for visually guided movements
80
inferior temporal cortex
portion of the cortex where neurons are highly sensitive to complex aspects of the shape of visual stimuli within very large receptive fields
81
visual agnosia
visual lack of knowledge, inability to recognize objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision (common in temporal cortex damage)
82
3 types of objects that produce specific responses in the inferior temp cortex
pictures of places - parahippocampal cortex faces - fusiform gyrus bodies - area close to face area
83
fusiform gyrus
brain area of the inferior temporal cortex that recognizes faces (also involved in many other types of detailed visual recognition)
84
prosopagnosia
inability to recognize faces
85
What two regions are important for motion perception
Middle temporal cortex (MT) AND Medial superior cortex (MST)
86
Middle Temporal Cortex (V5)
Recieve input from the magnocellular path to detect overall patterns, movement over large areas. Detect speed, and respond to pictures that imply movement
87
Medial Superior Temporal Cortex
Adjacent to MT/V5; recieve input from magnocellular path, similar to MT but respond best to complex motion related stimulu (such as expansion, contraction, or rotation of a large visual scene)
88
motion blindness
being able to see objects but unable to see whether they are moving or, if so, which direction and how fast
89
what connection issue happens with blindsight
thalamus -> temporal cortex
90
what would parietal cortex damage look like
someone can identify objects, but does not know where they are
91
what happens to rods in bright light
bright light bleaches them, respond better to dim light
92
where do most ganglion cells travel to (in primates/humans)
lateral geniculate nucleus of thalamus
93
what is the visual pathway to the brain
retina -> horizontal cells -> bipolar cells -> amacrine cells -> ganglion cells -> optic nerve - > brain (via LGN of thalamus to the visual cortex)
94
How do cones contribute to colour vision
According to trichromatic theory there are three types of cones, each are sensitive to diff wavelengths of light (short - blue, medium - green, long - red). Brain compares ration of activity across cones to decode colour
95
how do receptive fields change from retina up through the visual pathway
receptive fields get larger and more abstract

PSYC 302 Biological Pysc (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions