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