PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Contrast Effect, Optical Illusion, Retina

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Jens Pruessner

Document Summary

A given visual neuron"s tuning specifies its receptive field, the population of sensory receptors that influence activity in a sensory neurone. One of the most popular receptive fields is a circle that consists of a center region and a surrounding region. Light directed toward the center region causes the cell to become more active, whereas light directed toward the surrounding region inhibits the cell"s firing. Our visual system is especially sensitive to edges because they tell us where objects end. Lateral inhibition: process by which adjacent photoreceptors tend to inhibit one another, emphasizing the changes in visual stimuli. (an object will look lighter against a black background) The color of light is determined by its wavelength. We are seeing light waves ranging from 400 to 700 nm. The color of light is determined by the wavelengths of the electromagnetic waves that reaches the eye. There are 3 kinds of cones; each kind is most receptive to specific wavelengths.