Module 14: Vision

Background Key Terms; Transduction- conversion of one form of energy to another (stimulus energy into neural impulses) Sensation- when sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimulus from our environment Perception- organizing and interpreting sensory information Psychophysics- study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them How does the outside world get inside our brains? Stimuli-Sense-Perceive Bottom-Up Processing- starts with the sensory receptors and works its way up to the brains integration of sensory information (taking it for what it is worth) Top-Down Processing- starts with higher-level mental processes in order to construct perceptions on our experiences (use past schemas to interpret info) The Stimulus Input: Light Energy Intensity- the amount of energy in a light, which we perceive as brightness or loudness Hue- dimensions of color determined by wavelength The Eye Cornea- where the light first enters the eye; its a transparent protector Pupil- adjustable opening where light enters (controlled by emotions as well) Iris- muscle that forms the color portion of the eye and controls the size of the pupil opening Lens- transparent structure behind the pupil that changes shapes and focuses images on the retina Retina-inner surface containing rods and cones, processes information, and sends information to the brain (Fovea-point of central focus) (Optic nerve to brains visual cortex- sends image to the brain)

Acuity- sharpness of vision; this is affected by distortions in the shape of the eye Nearsightedness- the eyeball focuses light rays from distant objects in front of the retina Farsightedness- light rays from near objects come into focus behind the retina The Retina: Rods- enable black and white vision; are sensitive in low light; share bi-polar cells Cons- enable color vision; clustered around the fovea (central focus area, no rods here) add detail to image; have their own bi-polar shells Optic Nerve- nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain Fovea- central focal point in retina; around which the cones are clustered Dark Adaptations- pupil dilates in low illumination to allow more light to reach the rods Light Adaptation- the eye becomes more sensitive to situations with high levels of illumination Blind Spot- where the optic nerve leaves the eye; there are no receptor cells (Brain factors it out) Visual Information Processing- the retina processes light information and routes it to the occipital love, the visual cortex Feature Detectors- certain neurons respond to specific features of a scene; edge lines, angles, and movement Parallel Processing- processing several types of information at the same time Color Vision If no one sees a tomato, is it red? No, humans perceive and recognize and objects color due to the reflection of light. It is actually every other color besides red. The observer needs to mentally converge this image. Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic Theory (handout) *1/50 people suffer from color blindness- usually in men -All dogs are dichromatic, cannot see red