Biology Psychology: Vision
Cortical area ____ appears to be where conscious visual perception occurs.
V1
What is the shape of the receptive field to which a simple cell in the primary visual cortex responds?
bar in a particular orientation
In the human retina, messages go from receptors at the back of the eye to ____.
bipolar cells
Parvocellular neurons most likely receive input from:
bipolar cells that receive input from cones
Based on the relative distribution of the three kinds of cones in the retina, which color of road sign would be most difficult to see from a distance?
blue
Light from above our head strikes the:
bottom half of the retina
What type of cell responds to a pattern of light in a particular orientation anywhere within its large receptive field, regardless of the exact location of the stimulus?
complex
Which receptors are responsible for the perception of color?
cones
According to the retina theory, we perceive color by:
contrasting the activity in one area of the visual field with that of the others.
The visual path in the parietal cortex is referred to as the:
dorsal stream
In the vertebrate retina, which cells are responsible for lateral inhibition?
horizontal cells
A(n) ____ cell has a strong inhibitory area at one end of its bar-shaped receptive field.
hypercomplex
Which of the following has the largest receptive fields and the greatest preferential sensitivity to highly complex visual patterns, such as faces?
inferior temporal cortex
While light is striking a visual receptor, light begins also to strike the receptor next to it. What effect will this additional light have on the response of the first cell?
inhibition
Cortical plasticity:
is greatest in early life, but never ends
Why are men more likely to experience color vision deficiency than women?
it is a sex-linked genetic disorder
The enhancement of contrast at the edge of an object is the result of:
lateral inhibition in the retina
A person with damage to V1, but not V4, would be able to perceive:
motion; but not shape or color
The primary visual cortex sends its information:
to area V2
Where does the optic nerve send most of its information?
to the lateral geniculate
At the level of rods and cones, the ____ theory seems to fit best, while at the level of the bipolar cells, the ____ theory seems to fit best.
trichromatic opponent process
The visual paths in the temporal cortex collectively are referred to as the:
ventral stream
What is one way to determine whether a given cell in the primary visual cortex is "simple" or "complex"?
whether it can respond equally to lines in more than one location
Night-active species are more likely than day-active species to have:
Greater rod to cone ratio
Light energy converts 11-cis-retinal to:
all-trans-retinal
Infants with cataracts need to have surgical repair:
as early as possible
If we compare the receptive fields of two simple cells in the primary visual cortex, chosen at random, in what way are they most likely to differ?
orientation(angle) of a line that they respond to
According to the trichromatic theory of color vision:
our perception of color depends on the relative activity of three types of cones
Which ganglion cells, if any, are located mostly in or near the fovea?
parvocellular
Cutting the left optic nerve in front of the optic chiasm would result in blindness in ____.
the left eye
Light from the right half of the world strikes what part of the retina?
the left half
The blind spot in each eye is blind because:
there are no receptors there
How do the receptive fields of the inferior temporal cortex compare to those of the primary visual cortex?
they are sensitive to larger, more complicated patterns
Various types of ____ cells refine the input to ganglion cells, enabling them to respond specifically to shapes, movement, or other visual features.
amacrine cells
In comparison to cones, rods:
are more sensitive to dim light
Once within the cerebral cortex, the parvocellular pathway continues as a pathway sensitive to:
details of shape
Cases in which individuals with cataracts have sight restored to them after many years suggest that
early experiences can have relatively permanent effects on the brain
More than a century ago, researchers had evidence that the human retina contained three kinds of color-sensitive receptors. What was the basis of their evidence?
experiments on mixing colors of light together
Most neurons in the inferior temporal cortex that respond to a particular shape will be LEAST likely to respond to a:
figure-ground reversal
The bipolar cells send their messages to ____, located closer to the center of the eye.
ganglion cells
The optic nerve is composed of axons from which kind of cell?
ganglion cells
In humans, the optic nerves from the two eyes follow what pathway?
half of the axons from each eye cross to the other side at the optic chiasm
Light is focused as it enters through which of the following structures?
lens and cornea
In the visual system of the mammalian cerebral cortex, the dorsal stream is specialized for detecting ____, and the ventral stream is specialized for detecting ____.
locations;shape
The most common form of color vision deficiency is due to:
long-and medium-wavelength cones making the same photopigment
If you wanted to see a faint star at night, you should:
look slightly to one side
In the case of blindsight, losing conscious visual perception would most likely be associated with:
loss of visual imagination
The ability to detect movement better than color in our peripheral vision is largely due to:
magnocellular neurons in the periphery.
Ganglion cells near the fovea in humans and other primates are called ____ ganglion cells.
midget
Once within the cerebral cortex, the magnocellular pathway continues as a pathway sensitive to:
movement
Magnocellular cells are to ____ as parvocellular cells are to ____.
movement;color
Axons from the lateral geniculate extend to which area of the cerebral cortex?
occipital lobe.
If a kitten is reared with one eye shut, cells in its visual cortex become sensitive to:
only the eye that has been active
After you stare at a bright green object for a minute and look away, you see red. Which theory attempts to explain this finding?
opponent-process theory
The optic nerves from the right and left eye initially meet at the:
optic chiasm.
Small receptive fields are to ____ cells as large receptive fields are to ____ cells.
parvocellular, magnocellular
_____ are chemicals that release energy when struck by light.
photopigments
The receptive field of a receptor is the:
point in space from which light strikes the receptor
Light enters the eye through an opening in the center of the iris called the:
pupil
Damage to the dorsal stream may interfere with:
reaching out to grasp an object
In what order does visual information pass through the retina?
receptor cells, bipolar cells, ganglion cells
Why does the fovea provide the clearest, most detailed visual information?
receptors are tightly packed there
Color constancy is the ability to:
recognize the color of an object despite changes in lighting
Difficulty distinguishing between ____ and ____ is the most common form of color vision deficiency.
red;green
Color and brightness constancy are best explained by the ____ theory of color vision.
retinex
What are the two kinds of receptors in the retina?
rods and cones
Which of the following would most strongly excite a simple cell in the primary visual cortex?
square picture frame
The primary visual cortex is also known as the:
striate cortex
The lateral geniculate nucleus is part of the:
thalamus
Blindsight refers to:
the ability to localize visual objects within an apparently blind visual field.
Because blood vessels and ganglion cell axons are almost absent near the ____, it has nearly unimpeded vision
the fovea
If you want to see something in fine detail, you should focus the light on which part of your retina?
the fovea
Rods are to ____ as cones are to ____.
the periphery; the fovea
According to research on visual development in animals, probably the best way to treat amblyopia is to cover:
the strong eye for a period of time early in life
An inability to recognize objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision is called:
visual agnosia
According to the law of specific nerve energies, the brain tells the difference between one sensory modality and another by:
which neurons are active.
What is perceived when all types of cones are simultaneously and equally active?
white