PSYC2390_4.2

Visual Cortex

The part of the brain responsible for processing visual information.

Anisometropia

A condition where each eye has a different refractive power, leading to nearsightedness in one eye and farsightedness in the other.

Astigmatism

An optical defect caused by a deviation from spherical curvature, leading to the blurring of images.

Lateral Inhibition

A process by which lateral connections in the nervous system decrease the activity of neighboring cells, enhancing contrast in visual perception.

Simultaneous Contrast

A visual perception phenomenon where the appearance of a color is affected by the surrounding colors.

White's Illusion

An optical illusion where the perceived brightness of a color is influenced by the colors surrounding it.

Perception

The process of organizing, interpreting, and consciously experiencing sensory information.

Transduction

The conversion of stimuli from the environment into electro-chemical signals in neurons.

Optic Chiasm

The part of the brain where the optic nerves partially cross, leading visual information from each eye to both hemispheres.

Contralateral Visual Field

The visual field that is processed by the opposite hemisphere of the brain.

Ipsilateral Visual Field

The visual field that is processed by the same hemisphere of the brain.

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)

A structure in the thalamus that relays visual information to the visual cortex.

Blindsight

The ability to respond to visual stimuli without conscious awareness of seeing.

Center-Surround Receptive Fields

Receptive field organization in which the center and the surrounding areas have opposite effects on neuron response.

Cortical Magnification

The phenomenon where more area of the visual cortex is devoted to processing foveal regions than peripheral regions.

Simple Cortical Cells

Neurons that respond to bars of light and are sensitive to the orientation of the stimulus.

Complex Cortical Cells

Neurons that respond to bars of light, particularly sensitive to the direction of movement.

End-Stopped Cortical Cells

Neurons that respond to moving lines of a specific length and to corners or angles.

Feature Detectors

Neurons that respond selectively to specific features of visual stimuli, such as orientation or movement.

Selective Adaptation

The reduction in neural firing in response to a frequently presented stimulus.

Neural Plasticity

The ability of neurons in the brain to change and adapt as a result of experience.

Retinotopic Map

A spatially organized mapping of visual input from the retina to neurons in the brain.

Depth Perception

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge the distance of objects.

Ocular Dominance

The preference of visual processing in one eye over the other.

LGN Layers

The organization of the lateral geniculate nucleus into layers, with different layers processing inputs from different eyes.

Parvocellular Cells

LGN neurons that process color and fine detail, typically associated with P-type ganglion cells.

Magnocellular Cells

LGN neurons that are larger and process motion and depth, typically associated with M-type ganglion cells.

Retina

The light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of the eye that converts light into neural signals.

Visual Receiving Area

The part of the brain where visual information is initially processed before being sent to higher-level areas.

Optic Nerve

The nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain.

Visual Pathway

The route visual information takes from the eye to the visual cortex in the brain.

Neurons in V1

Neurons found in the primary visual cortex that process visual input and contribute to perception.

Visual Cortex Damage

Injury to the visual cortex that can result in loss of visual perception despite the eyes being functional.

Selective Rearing

An experiment that examines how exposure to specific stimuli affects neural response properties.

Contrast Threshold

The minimum amount of contrast required for a subject to perceive a stimulus.

Psychophysical Experiment

An experiment designed to study the relationship between physical stimuli and sensory perception.

Gratings

Patterns of stripes used in vision experiments to examine perception.

High-level Processing

Advanced stages of visual processing that involve object recognition and conscious perception.