PSYC304 Perception Full Course Assignments Week 4 Forum

First, watch the video below discussing the primary visual cortex. Then discuss a minimum of two functional properties of visual cortical cells. Include in your discussion how the human brain uses these properties in perceiving objects in our everyday activities. In addition, discuss three things (objects, situations, age etc.) that can impede the normal functioning of these properties.

Support your answer and use specific examples. You may refer to your assigned Week 3 readings in the syllabus or draw on scholarly online resources. The latter must be academic in nature (e.g. from the APUS online library) and not from pop culture and/or commercial websites, blogs, opinion sites, etc.

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The primary visual cortex

Introduction

The visual cortex is a structure in the brain that processes visual information. The primary visual cortex, also known as V1, is part of the occipital lobe and receives input from the retina. It is responsible for recognizing objects and shapes, and storing this information in memory.

Structure

The primary visual cortex (V1) is located in the occipital region of your brain, on both sides. It’s a thin layer that covers about one-third of your cerebral cortex—that’s the outer layer of your brain where all its different parts connect together.

The V1 has about 300 million neurons, which means it’s about as big as your thumb! The two halves are separated by chiasmas (crossroads), which allow signals from each half to reach one another: one leg of each chiasma connects to the contralateral side (opposite side) and vice versa for another leg.

Overview

The primary visual cortex is the first stage of processing in the visual system. It is located in the back part of your occipital lobe, which is above your back and behind your eyes (the occipital lobe).

The primary visual cortex has two major parts: a dorsal portion that receives input from both eyes; and an anterior ventral portion that receives input from just one eye at any given time. The dorsal and ventral portions can be thought of as side-by-side or mirror images of each other.

Visual field map

The primary visual cortex is a strip of tissue about 1.5 inches long and a half inch wide that sits at the back of your head. It’s also called V1 because it’s the first area where vision occurs, but it’s actually part of two separate pieces: one on either side of your head (the right hemisphere and left hemisphere). This means that there are two columns in which to lay out all the visual information you receive from your eyes: one for each side!

The normal visual field map looks like this:

This means that if you look straight ahead at something close to you (like another person), then all that information will be taken up by V1—and only processed by V1 if necessary for identifying objects within this particular location within space-time continuum…which is why when we look at things far away from us–like cars speeding down highways–we don’t see much detail!

Connection to other areas

The primary visual cortex has a lot of feedback connections to other areas of the brain. It also has feedback connections to other parts of your body, including the muscles in your eyes and face.

The first area that receives input from the primary visual cortex is the lateral intraparietal area (LIP). This area is located on one side of each hemisphere, near where you can feel yourself when you touch it: just above where your eyebrows meet your hairline. LIP sends signals about what objects are in front of you to an area called Area V1–which contains neurons specifically designed for processing visual information about those objects–and then sends signals about how these things move across our field of vision as well as anything else happening around us at any given moment (like someone speaking).

Takeaway:

The primary visual cortex is the first stage of processing of visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe and receives information from the lateral geniculate nucleus, which sends signals to other areas of the brain that process color vision, motion perception and spatial orientation.

The primary visual cortex has two parts: one part receives input from both eyes (what we call binocular vision) while another part receives input from just one eye (monocular vision).

In addition to receiving information about what we see directly through our eyes, it also helps us recognize objects based on their shape or movement patterns.

Conclusion

Visual cortex is an important part of the brain. The primary visual cortex is responsible for processing visual information and transmitting it to other parts of the brain. It plays a role in vision, memory, language, attention and learning.