14-Oct-15
The Visual System
Important Principles
• Feature Analysis
• What vs. Where
– “Where it’s at”
– “What I got”
What vs. Where
“Vision is the process of discovering from
images what is present in the world, and
where it is.”
David MARR
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14-Oct-15
The Eye
Structures of the EYE
Proximal stimulus
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14-Oct-15
The Cells of the Retina
Light
To
Brain
Neural
signals
Rods & Cones ( PHOTORECEPTORS)
Properties of
• RODS • CONES
– 120 million – 6 million
– Detect Black/White – Sensitive to color
– Low acuity – High acuity
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14-Oct-15
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
RETINA
Ganglion Cells
The Cells of the Retina
Light
To
Brain
Neural
signals
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14-Oct-15
Ganglion Cells: The Neuron
Mapping the Receptive Field
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14-Oct-15
Mapping the Receptive Field
Baseline level
Inhibition
No response
Excitation (activation)
Ganglion Cells
Light
To
Brain
Neural
signals
Center-surround organization:
On-center/Off-surround
Off-center/On-surround
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14-Oct-15
On-center, off-surround
Center-surround organization:
On-center/Off-surround
Off-center/On-surround
Center-surround organization
INCREASES ACUITY
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
RETINA
Ganglion Cells
M -CELLS P-CELLS
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14-Oct-15
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
RETINA
Ganglion Cells
NEURAL SIGNAL PASSES
THRU THE OPTIC NERVE &
LEAVES RETINA
Important Point to take:
1. Even before the signal gets to the brain,
the retina does a fair amount of
information processing.
2. Information in CONDENSED as it goes
through the retina
(100 million photoreceptors 10 million
bipolar cells 1 million ganglion cells)
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
RETINA
Ganglion Cells
NEURAL SIGNAL PASSES
THRU THE OPTIC NERVE &
LEAVES RETINA
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14-Oct-15
So, ganglion cells are good for:
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
RETINA
Ganglion Cells
NEURAL SIGNAL PASSES THRU THE OPTIC NERVE LEAVES RETINA
Thalamus: LGN
(Lateral Geniculate Nuclei)
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
M P
Ganglion Cells:
Lateral Geniculate: Magnocellular Parvocellular
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14-Oct-15
Magno Parvo
• Transient response • Sustained response
• Large receptive field • Small receptive field
• Movement/Location • Patterns/Color/Form
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
RETINA
Ganglion Cells
NEURAL SIGNAL PASSES THRU THE OPTIC NERVE
Thalamus: LGN
(Lateral Geniculate Nuclei)
Visual Cortex/ Occipital Cortex
(V1, BA 17)
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
M P
Ganglion Cells:
Lateral Geniculate: Magnocellular Parvocellular
Occipital Visual Cortex:
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14-Oct-15
The Cerebral Cortex
Parietal Lobe
Frontal Lobe
Front Back
Visual
Cortex
Occipital
Lobe
Temporal Lobe
Left side view
• Simple cortical cells
• Complex cortical cells Visual Cortex
• Hypercomplex cells
1981 Nobel
Simple Cell
• Bar of light
• Specific orientation
• Specific retinal position
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14-Oct-15
Visual Cortex
• Simple cortical cells
• Complex cortical cells
• Hypercomplex cells
Complex
Cell
• Edges
• Movement
• Retinal position
not important
Visual Cortex
• Simple cortical cells
• Complex cortical cells Feature analysis
Of increasing complexity
• Hypercomplex cells
• Very specific sizes
• Corners
• Gaps
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14-Oct-15
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
M P
Ganglion Cells:
Lateral Geniculate: Magnocellular Parvocellular
Occipital Visual Cortex:
Dorsal Stream Ventral Stream
(Parietal Lobe) (Temporal Lobe)
Two Visual Pathways
Dorsal Parietal Lobe
Dorsal
“Where”
Pathway
Visual
Cortex
Occipital
Ventral Lobe
“What”
Temporal Lobe Pathway
Ventral
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14-Oct-15
Rods & Cones
Bipolar Cells
M P
Ganglion Cells:
Lateral Geniculate: Magnocellular Parvocellular
Occipital Visual Cortex:
Dorsal Stream Ventral Stream
(Parietal Lobe) (Temporal Lobe)
Positron Emission Tomography
Mental activity
Neural activity
Blood flow
More radioactive tracer
More positrons emitted
PET Scanner
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14-Oct-15
PET Study:
Spatial vs. Object Processing
• Spatial (Where) task should activate
occipital and parietal regions.
• Object (What) task should activate
occipital and temporal regions
Kohler Experiment:
Spatial (Where) vs. Object (What)
Processing
Spatial Task
locations: same or different? (different)
Object Task
objects: same or different? (same)
PET results: Kohler et al.
study
Areas of activation:
Spatial task: area 39
(Parietal/Dorsal)
Object task: area 37
(Temporal/Ventral)
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14-Oct-15
Population coding
• Is there a “grandmother” cell?
nope. Grandma
Boduroglu
Needpatterns of activation across a
population of cells to recognize objects
Grandma Grandpa
Thought Question?
• What if I was interested in all
the neural activity associated
with perceiving a visual
display…
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14-Oct-15
• Agnosia Patients
• Neglect Patients
The Dissociation of the
“What” & “Where” Streams
• Kohler’s PET study
• Neuropsychological cases
Dr. P (Oliver Sacks) vs.
A.H. (McCloskey)
Dr.P: A Case of Visual Agnosia
• Music professor, middle-aged, male
• Symptoms:
– Failed to recognize students by sight; but could
recognize them by the sound of their voices
– “Saw” faces in animate objects (e.g. greeted a
parking meter!)
– He mistook his wife as a hat!
– Musically, still very talented
– Nothing wrong with his eyes!
– No dementia (memory loss)
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14-Oct-15
Dr.P: A Case of Visual Agnosia
Dr.P: A Case of Visual Agnosia
• “About 6 inches
(~15cm) in length. It
is a convoluted
(complex) red form
with a linear green
attachment!”
Dr.P: A Case of Visual Agnosia
What is it?
• “Not easy to say. It
lacks the simple
symmetry of the
Platonic solids.
Although it may have
a higher symmetry of
its own…I think this
could be a flower”
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14-Oct-15
Dr.P: A Case of Visual Agnosia
Smell it!
• “Beautiful! An early
rose. What a
heavenly smell!”
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