Vision ll Flashcards
(40 cards)
retinal ganglion cells project to many places
~90% of retinal projection is to the lateral geniculate nucleus
and it is also projected to pretectum:reflexive eye movements and pupil size.
lateral geniculate nucleus
LGN is a nucleus (cluster of neurons) in the thalamus
~90% of retinal projections are to the LGN, which subsequently sends significant projections to the cortex.
Cortex is associated with “conscious” vision.
Why do you want binocular vision
– if you’ve seen a 3D movie you know – it lets you easily judge relative depth and perceive distance.
So primary visual cortex is the first time that you get converging information from the two eyes – binocular cells
The image on the right (nasal) portion of the left eye projects to the
right side of the brain
- decussation of the optic fiber
the image on the right (temporal) portion of the right eye, projects to
the right side of the brain
the image projected to the temporal portion of each eye do not cross at the optic chiasma, it goes to that side of the brain where the eye is located
Contralateral vs Ipsilateral
Contralateral – on the opposite side of the body (used for left-vs-right)
Ipsilateral – on the same side
Decussation vs Partial decussation
Decussation – crossing of the axons from one side of the body to the other
Partial decussation – when only some of the axons in a nerve cross from one side to the other
Partial decussation – each eye receives information both sides of the visual world.
However, each side of the brain only receives information from one side of the visual world.
Fibres from each nasal hemiretina
decussate in the
optic chiasm:
The left visual cortex represents the right visual field.
The right visual cortex represents the left visual field.
Transection of optic nerve
- Functionally equivalent to closing one eye
left optic nerve cut => monocular vision, only see with right eye – but both sides
Transection of optic tract (or LGN or V1)
Only see things in one hemifield
Both eyes still functional
left optic tract cut => retain binocular vision – but only for left visual hemifield.
Transection of optic chiasm
Only crossing fibres are affected
Both eyes still functional
Lose binocular stereoscopic vision
Bitemporal hemianopia (e.g. due to pituitary tumour)
optic chiasm cut=> only central vision. Remember, nasal portion of retina – which “sees” temporal visual field decussates. This is lost, so we are left with central vision.
For bonus points – processing of each part of the visual field is monocular, because only get R visual field from L eye and L visual field from R eye.
what happens if pituitary gland swells?
Optic tract & chiasm wrap around pituitary gland, so swelling of the pituitary can block nerve transmission
what are two main visual “streams?
Parietal / dorsal / where pathway
Temporal / ventral / what pathway
Role of Parietal / dorsal / where pathway
cortical areas are specialised for processing object position and motion
vision for action / interacting with environment
Temporal / ventral / what pathway
- Cortical areas are specialised for processing object form and identification
- vision for perception
what is Brodmann areas – anatomical classification (cytoarchitecture
Brodmann areas – anatomical classification (cytoarchitecture
discrete regions of the brain could be distinguished based purely on anatomical criteria:
the density of cell bodies in different layers
The patterns of myelination
In these pictures, each anatomically defined cortical area is shaded differently.
How are they connected?
Serial vs Parallel processing
Many computations are carried out simultaneously (in parallel)
e.g. Photoreceptors all work in parallel; MT and V4 act in parallel
Some processing increases in complexity and must occur serially
e. g. in the ventral stream
- V1 contains neurons that encode orientation
- V4 contains neurons that encode simple shapes
- TE contains neurons that encode objects and faces
Different ganglion cell types tile the retina:
parallel processing with functional segregation
>12 parallel circuits, with unique classes of ganglion cell
Each circuit receives inputs from the same cone photoreceptors, but the inputs are processed in different ways.
Parasol cells (M-type cells)
- large cell bodies, dendritic arbors, receptive fields
sensitive to rapidly changing stimuli
not colour sensitive (inputs from all cone types)
project to Magnocellular LGN layers
Midget cells (P-type cells)
- small cell bodies, dendritic arbors, receptive fields
sensitive to fine stimulus features
colour sensitive (selective cone inputs)
project to Parvocellular LGN layers
predominantly in fovea
Size of cell body reflects function
Midget cells are able to detect fine spatial features because they don’t integrate across as many photoreceptors
parasol cells – sensitive to lower contrasts – larger regions of space
• Larger cells => faster conduction velocities / higher temporal resolution.
•Intrinsically photosensitive RG cells – project to suprachiasmatic nucleus – circadian rhythms; also control pupillary light reflex.
• Prevailing theory
– Parvo = object recognition / shape; Magno = motion.
Major retinal projection is to the
lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus
The six layers of the LGN each represent the contralateral visual field.
Roughly speaking, receptive field properties of neurons in LGN are similar to those in the retina.
LGN receives more inputs from cortex than from retina – feedback is clearly important.
•LGN is first region where attention can influence sensory processing.
LGN is a six-layered structure: parallel processing with functional segregation (again)
Parvocellular Layers (3-6)---Inputs from midget RGC Magnocellular Layers (1 & 2)----Inputs from parasol RGC there are also intermediate, or Koniocellular layers between each layers