Question 1

Which is the correct description of a Mach Band?

Accepted Answer

Mach Bands are an optical illusion where uniform colors appear to have a gradient at the border between lighter and darker shades, enhancing the contrast at the edges.

Question 2

The process of taking signals from the outside world (such as visible light) and turning them into electrochemical signals is called:

Accepted Answer

Sensory transduction is the process by which sensory stimuli are converted into electrical signals in the nervous system.

Question 3

What percentage of the human brain is dedicated to vision?

Accepted Answer

Approximately 30% of the human brain is involved in processing visual information, making it one of the most significant sensory systems in terms of brain allocation.

Question 4

Visible light is transduced by the:

Accepted Answer

Photoreceptors in the retina (rods and cones) are responsible for transducing visible light into neural signals.

Question 5

Once light enters the eye and shines through the lens, it is focused onto the:

Accepted Answer

The retina is the part of the eye where light is focused after passing through the lens. It contains photoreceptor cells that convert light into electrical signals for the brain to process.

Question 6

The brain receives information from the retina with the help of the:

Accepted Answer

Retinal ganglion cells are responsible for transmitting visual information from the retina to the brain via the optic nerve.

Question 7

What is the function of the iris?

Accepted Answer

The iris controls the size of the pupil, thereby regulating the amount of light that enters the eye.

Question 8

Retinal ganglion cells are great at detecting:

Accepted Answer

Retinal ganglion cells are great at detecting differences in light levels (edges).

Question 9

The optic nerve is made of the axons of:

Accepted Answer

The optic nerve is composed of the axons of retinal ganglion cells, which transmit visual information from the retina to the brain.

Question 10

Hubel and Weisel characterized V1 cells in:

Accepted Answer

Hubel and Wiesel conducted their pioneering research on the visual cortex using cats as their primary model organism.

Question 11

Both parvocellular and magnocelluar retinal ganglion cells feed information to the:

Accepted Answer

Both parvocellular and magnocellular retinal ganglion cells send visual information to the thalamus, specifically to the lateral geniculate nucleus, which processes visual information before it is sent to the visual cortex.

Question 12

The neurons in the primary visual cortex are organized:

Accepted Answer

The neurons in the primary visual cortex are organized retinotopically, meaning that they are arranged in a way that corresponds to the arrangement of the retina. This allows the brain to create a map of the visual world, with each neuron representing a specific point in space.

Question 13

The cells in the LGN respond to dark and light spots, cells in the primary visual cortex responds to:

Accepted Answer

Cells in the primary visual cortex, particularly simple cells, respond to edges of specific orientations, which is crucial for processing visual information related to shapes and patterns.

Question 14

Blobs are cells in the primary visual cortex that process input relating to:

Accepted Answer

Blobs in the primary visual cortex are specialized for processing color information.

Question 15

The secondary visual cortex has neurons with _____ receptive fields than the neurons of the primary visual cortex.

Accepted Answer

The secondary visual cortex (V2) processes more complex visual information than the primary visual cortex (V1), and its neurons typically have slightly larger receptive fields to integrate more information.

Question 16

As you go higher up the visual hierarchy, neurons respond preferentially to ____ stimuli.

Accepted Answer

As you go higher up the visual hierarchy, neurons respond preferentially to more abstract stimuli.

Question 17

Sparse coding refers to _______ of neurons activating for specific stimuli.

Accepted Answer

Sparse coding involves small clusters of neurons activating in response to specific stimuli, allowing for efficient and distinct representation of information.

Question 18

The disorder that involves disregarding one half of the visual world is called:

Accepted Answer

Hemineglect is a disorder that involves disregarding one half of the visual world, typically the left side. It is often caused by damage to the right hemisphere of the brain.

Question 19

Bilateral damage to the face area in the ventral visual system can result in:

Accepted Answer

Bilateral damage to the face area in the ventral visual system can result in prosopagnosia, which is the inability to recognize faces.

Question 20

If you are able to interact with objects but are unable to identify them, you probably have damage in your:

Accepted Answer

The ventral stream is responsible for object recognition and identification. Damage to this area can result in the inability to identify objects, despite being able to interact with them.

Quiz 5: Vision