Vision and Chemoreception

Flashcards covering key concepts and vocabulary from the lecture on vision and chemoreception.

Photons

Small packets of energy that make up light.

Electromagnetic spectrum

A continuum of energy in waves, with visible light ranging from 400nm to 700nm.

Cornea

Outer translucent covering of the eye that bends light.

Pupil

An opening in the iris that allows light to enter the eye.

Cones

Photoreceptors in the retina responsible for photopic vision, details, bright light, and color vision.

Rods

Photoreceptors in the retina responsible for scotopic vision, movement, and low light.

Trichromatic theory

Theory stating that there are three types of cones in the retina sensitive to different wavelengths of light: blue, green, and red.

Opponent process theory

Theory that assumes cells in the retina and thalamus send two different signals based on color excitation or inhibition.

Receptive fields

Areas from which intermediate cells and ganglion cells receive information from photoreceptors.

Lateral inhibition

Process that highlights areas where dark meets light and accentuates edges.

Visual cortex

Part of the brain that builds images through linear processing and contains different types of cells sensitive to lines and shapes.

Dorsal stream

The pathway in the brain responsible for perceiving motion and location.

Ventral stream

The pathway in the brain responsible for object recognition and color perception.

Prosopagnosia

Inability to perceive faces or recognize people.

Taste papillae

Bumps on the tongue that contain taste receptor cells for transduction of flavors.

Supertasters

Individuals with more taste papillae and heightened sensitivity, particularly to bitter flavors.

Olfactory receptor neurons (ORN)

Bipolar neurons in the nose that have receptors for odorants.

Gustatory cortex

Area of the brain where taste information is processed for conscious perception of tastes.