CORTICAL FUNCTION  Luminous energy – is a radiant energy corrected
for the sensitivity of the retina to different
 The nervous impulse that originates in the retina passes
in the optic nerves, the optic chiasm, and the optic tract
to the lateral geniculate body of the thalamus.
 At the lateral geniculate body, the axons carrying visual
impulse synapse with axons that terminate in the visual
cortex
 Other neurons of unknown function extend to the
hypothalamus and midbrain nuclei that belong to the
accessory optic tract system.
 The complexity and capacity of the human visual cortex
in the occipital lobe are emphasized by its size: 3 x 5000
mm if flattened out. The major portion of striate cortex is
concerned with form vision
Cortical Cells:
1. Simple cells are arranged into excitatory and
inhibitory regions separated by boundaries that are
straight and parallel, and they are related to the X
(simple) system. Their fields may be mapped with
stationary retinal stimuli.
2. Complex cells (related mainly to the Y system)
appear to be combinations of simple cells that
respond particularly to moving edges on the retina
with directional sensitivity
3. Hypercomplex cells respond only to moving
stimuli on the retina and are most potently
stimulated by the ends of lines, line segments and
corners
Lateral Geniculate body
o Receives a massive back projection from the visual
cortex of the occipital lobe
o This feedback loop functions to synchronize those
signals most appropriate for subsequent cortical
processing
o The neuronal responses evoked by the same object
are selected and mapped to each other so as not to
be cofounded with those of nearby object or
background
o The associations are mapped to at least 30 higher
cortical centers that interact with several hundred
additional centers that integrate the visual impulse
into sensory representations and motor response
VISUAL FUNCTION
A. ACTION OF LIGHT ON THE EYE
 When a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
known as visible light (400 to 700 nm) is absorbed
by the visual pigment in the rods and cones, a
nervous impulse is transmitted to the brain and
causes a subjective sensation
 Luminous units – express the amount of radiant
light energy in terms of subjective sensation of
brightness in the observer
wavelengths
 Luminosity Function
o Photopic/Cone: Indicates the sensitivity
of a light-adapted human eye; Maximum
sensitivity – 555 nm
o Scotopic/Rod: Indicates the sensitivity of
a dark-adapted human eye; Maximum
sensitivity – 507 nm
 When a colored object is viewed in dim illumination,
it appears to have no color. As illumination
increases, the color of the object appears. This
change from achromatic to chromatic reflects the
change from scotopic to photopic vision.
 Purkinje shift – change in luminosity function
B. DARK PERCEPTION
 Increased sensitivity of the eye to the detection of
light that occurs in reduced illumination
 Pupil dilates and neural and biochemical changes
in the retina occurs
 Initial Phase
o After exposure to bright light, there is an
initial hundredfold increase in sensitivity
following an exponential time course that
reaches a plateau after 5-9 minutes
o Attributed to the regeneration of
photopigments in the cones
 Second Phase
o There is a 103 to 105 increase in sensitivity
that follows a slower exponential time
course, which reaches a plateau in 30-45
minutes
o Attributed to regeneration of rhodopsin in
the rods
C. LIGHT PERCEPTION
 Mechanisms
o Neural Mechanism – occurs regardless
of of the area of the retina stimulated;
completed in about 0.05 second
o Photochemical Mechanism – involves
only the region of stimulation; occurs in
about 1 minute
 Rhodopsin is bleached, Pupil is constricted, Shift of
luminosity to the yellow-red end of the spectrum
and Hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of the retina
shifts from 7.3 to 7.0
D. COLOR PERCEPTION
 Young-Helmholtz Trichomatic Theory
 According to this theory, the human retina contains
three different receptors that are sensitive to their
own specific color
 Each of these color-sensitive cone cells has
different sensitivities
 The combination of these colors can form any
visible color in the color spectrum
 ***If one of the three basic color mechanisms is
absent or not functioning, it is called
dichromacy (mild form of color blindness)
o L/Red Cones - Long wavelength sensitive
cones; Maximum sensitivity of 563 nm
o M/Green Cones - Middle wavelength
sensitive cones; Maximum sensitivity of
535 nm
o S/Blue Cones - Short wavelength
sensitive cones; Maximum sensitivity
420nm