physiology of

behavior
Dr. Nino Muradashvili. M.D.
2021
Associate Professor – Caucasus International University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Assistant Professor – University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
Director – Medison Outpatient Center Branch 2, Tbilisi, Georgia
Vision
 Transduction

The transformation of stimulus energy (sights,

sounds, smells) into neural impulses.
The Stimulus Input: Light Energy

Humaneye

Visible
Spectrum

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10 ' 10 , 10 t 1 01 1 0' 1 0' 1 01 1 0-. 1 01 1 1 0 11 1 0' 1 01 7

Bee's eye Wavelength i n nanometers (billionths o f a m e i e r )

Light is composed of electromagnetic waves with Wavelengths (distance from

one peak to another peak on a wave) and Amplitudes (height of the wave) .
Physical Characteristics of Light

1. Wavelength (hue/color)

3. Intensity (brightness)
 Wavelength (Hue)
• H ue (color)
is the dimension of color
determined b y the Short wavelength = high frequency
(bluish colors, high-pitched sounds)
wavelength of the
light.

Long wavelength = low frequency

• Wavelength (reddish colors, low-pitched sounds)
is the distance from the
peak of one wave to the
peak of the next.
 Wavelength (Hue)

Violet Indigo Blue Green Yellow Orange Red

400 nm 700 nm
Short wavelength s Long wav elengths

Different wave lengths of light result

in different colors .
 Intensity (Brightness)

Great amplitude
(bright colors, loud sounds)

•Intensity:
Amount of energy in a wave
determined by the Small amplitude
amplitude. I t is related to (dull colors, soft sounds)
perceived brightness.
 Intensity (Brightness)

Blue color with varying levels of intensity.

As intensity increases or decreases, blue color
looks more "washed out" or "darkened."
 The Eye

Pu
Fovea
(point of
central focus)

Optic nerve
to brain's
visual cortex
Iris
 Parts of the eye
• Cornea: Transparent tissue where light enters
the eye.
• Iris: Muscle that expands and contracts to
change the size of the opening (pupil) for light.
• Lens: Focuses the light rays on the retina.
• Retin a: Contains sensory receptors that process
visual information and sends it to the brain.

cortu
Iris
 The Lens
Lens:
Transparent structure Distant focus
behind the pupil that
changes shape to focus
images on the retina.

Accommodation: Close focus

The process by which the .....

eye's lens changes shape
to help focus near or far
objects on the retina.
 Retina
Retina:
The light sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing
receptor rods and cones in addition to layers of other
neurons (bipolar, ganglion cells) that process visual
information.
 Optic Nerve, Blind Spot & Fovea
Optic nerve : Carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Blind Spot: Point where the optic nerve leaves the eye because
there are no receptor cells located there .
Fovea : Central point in the retina around which the eye's cones
cluster.
Photoreceptors
 Bipolar & Ganglion Cells

Bipolar cells receive

messages from
photoreceptors and
transmit them to
ganglion cells,
which converge to
form the optic
nerve.
Visual Information Processing
 How is visual information
processed in the brain?
The retina processes information before
routing it via the thalamus to the brain's
cortex.
After the rods and cones process the visual
input, the information travels to the
ganglion cells (whose axons make up the
optic nerve) and then to the visual cortex
in the brain (located in the occipital lobe).
 Visual Information Processing
•Processing of several aspects of the stimulus
simultaneously is called para llel processing . The
brain divides a visual scene into subdivisions such
as color, depth, form, movement, etc.
Sometimes parallel processing is hindered in some way.
For example: Mrs. X was a woman who suffered stroke
damage to both sides of her brain. She became unable
to perceive movement. She was unable to see people
move yet they would miraculously appear in different
places although she could not see how they had gotten
there .
There is also a phenomenon called Blindsight. This is when
people who cannot consciously perceive can still
remarkably locate objects but are consciously unaware
of how they knew where the objects were or what their
orientation was.
Feature Detection
Shape Detection
 Color Vision
The Young-Helmholtz Trichromatic (three color) theory
and the Opponent-Process theory help contribute to
our understanding of color vision.

We know (or we think we know) that a tomato is red.

Ask yourself this: If a tree falls in the forest and no one
is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Now ask yourself this: If no one sees the tomato,

is it red?
The answer is NO.
The tomato is everything but red, because it
rejects (or better yet, reflects) the long
wavelengths of red.
Also, the tomato's color is our mental
construction.
Light rays are not colored. Color does not
reside in an object; it resides within our
brain; hence our ability to dream in color.
 Color Vision
Trichromatic theory: Young and von Helmholtz
suggested that the eye must contain three receptors that
are sensitive to red, blue and green colors, which when
stimulated can produce the perception of any color.

Standard stimulu s

Comparison s timulu s

Medium

Blue
 Color Blindness
Genetic disorder in which people are blind to green or red
colors. This suppor ts the Trichromatic theory.

They will not be able to perceive the number within the

design.
 Visual perception principles

• Usually used automatically

with no conscious effort,
• but sometimes used
intentionally (on purpose)
by artists, designers, and
advertisers!

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 1. Gestalt Principles

• Organise features of a visual scene by

grouping them to perceive a whole, complete
form in the simplest possible way.

1. Figure-ground organisation
2 . Closure
3 . Similarity
4 . Proximity
1. Figure-ground organisation
I
 2. Closure

AUSTRALIAN MADE
1\
L
When we have similar objects of size, shape and color
again we form groups
When objects which are closer to each other we tend to
associate them together to form groups .
 let's revise again! Gestalt Principles

• Organise features of a visual scene by

grouping them to perceive a whole, complete
form in the simplest possible way.

1. Figure-ground organisation
2 . Closure
3 . Similarity
4 . Proximity
 An Introduction to Visual
Perception
What is visual perception?
"visual perception is the end product of vision"

I t can be described as the way the brain interprets what

the eyes see.
THE BRAIN

•The brain receives information from the

retina, then using a hierarchical method
processes this information using different
parts of the brain e.g. lateral geniculate
nucleus and the primary and secondary
visual cortex of the brain.

•The main problem with visual perception is

that it is not simply a translation of the
image seen by the retina, making it difficult
for scientists to explain what we actually
see.
• This can be altered by previous experiences.
• The Chairs theory

•I t can effect the way you see a situation.

• The Taxi theory

•I t is used in media to make you have the opinion of

someone that they want you to have.
• The Bad guys/good guys theory
 Homo significans
The world is seen in different ways by different creatures, as humans
we put a large emphasis on visuals. We do not always believe our
eyes, we know that a pencil in a glass jar will look bent and that a
moon closer to the horizon will appear bigger and that there are such
things as optical illusions.
Humans as a species are driven by a desire to find meaning. This
relates to the title, because as humans we are all "homo significans''
meaning makers.

This is proved with a few simple shapes and lines, that the mind
strives to find meaning in.

What do you see here:

Your more likely to see five pairs close together than 4 pairs more
spaced with a line either side spare. We do this because the brain puts
the closer objects together.
 Hermann Von Helmholtz
•Hermann Von Helmholtz, seen as the
founder of visual per ception studies
believed vision was a form of
uncon scious infer ence, (Inference is the
act or process of deriving a conclusion
based solely on what one already knows)
•Two well known assumptions are that
light comes from above and that objects
are viewed from above, not below.
•Visual illusions are where this process
goes wrong e.g...
The Scintillating grid illusion
• Black spots will seem
to appear very quickly
at the intersections.
Optical illusion
• Focus on the black
dot and move your
head back and forth
• This creates the
illusion that two
circles are moving
 Gestalt Theory
o The Gestalt Theory origina lly came about in the 1890's.

o Gestalt is German for "Shape/Form/Likeness "

o There are 3 main Gestalt psychologists:
• Max Wertheimer (I s credited as the founder of the movement
of Gestalt Psychology)
• Wolfgang Kohler
• Kurt Koffka
o The concept of Gesta lts Psychology was original ly
foundered by an Austrian psychologist called Christian
Freiherr von Ehrenfels
o The majo r problem with the Gestalt laws and principles are
that they are mainly descriptive and not explanatory.
 Gestalt Theory
The Gestalt Principles can be split into 3 groups:

 Figure and Ground

 Similarity, Proximity, Common Fate and Good Continuity
 Closure, Area and Symmetry
 Conclusion
Vision is not necessarily what we see but
how our brain interprets the world around
us, our own experiences can shape how
we perceive this world.

"Seeing is believing"
VISUAL PERCEPTUAL SKILLS
FORM CONSTANCY-
The ability to know that a form or
shape is the same, even if it has beer
rotated, made smaller / larger, or
observed from up close or far away.
Eg:- A child must know that the word "the " is
the same whether they see it written in a text
book, on a marker board, or in a magazine
article.
 VISUAL DISCRIMINATION : -
The ability to determine differences
or similarities in objects or forms
based on size, color, shape, etc. ..
1

Eg: - Difficulties in this skill area can

make "p" look a lot like "q" or "the" look a lot
lik e "then ", "S" look a lot lik e "5"
 FIGURE GROUND PERCEPTION:-
The ability to locate something in a cluttered or
busy background. It can help a child to not lose
his / her place when reading or when copying
from the board.

Eg: - To find a AAA battery in the junk drawer.

• VISUAL CLOSURE:-
The ability to recognize a form or object even
when the whole picture of it isn't available.

Visual closure is important for

reading and comprehending
what we see quickly.

A child with this impairment has to study a

word or sentence carefully before they
know what it is.
 VISUAL SEQUENTIAL MEMORY
The ability to recall a sequence of obj ects or
forms in the correct order.

It is very important for spelling.

 VISUAL MEMORY:-
The ability to recall visual traits of a form or
object.
It is important for copying from a board or
book.

VISUAL SPATIAL RELATIONS:-

The ability to understand the relationships of
objects within the environment.
Eg- Think of the direction, "Go put your shoes
under your desk, and then come standin
front of the water fountain. "
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE VISUAL
PERCEPTUAL SKILLS
• Visual cues- such as coloured dot or sticker to
show what side of the page to start writing or
reading.
• Directional arrows- direction or starting position
• Graph paper: word spacing and sizing.
• Highlight the line: encourage correct line
alignment.
• Paper copies: Provide the child what is to be
copied on a piece of paper to put on their desk,
rather than copying from the board.
• Alphabet strip: Place on the child's table that thev
can refer to for correct letter formation.
Eliminate clutter: Desk should be kept clear.
Position desk away from distractions: Place
the child's desk in an area closer to the front
to avoid the distractions of other students.
Eliminate visual distractions: Less distractible
environment.
Keep worksheets clear and simple: Avoid
unnecessary decorations
Outline boundaries:
Break visual activities into small steps: When
working on puzzles, present one piece at a
time, and cover unneeded pieces of the
puzzle.
Hidden pictures games in books such as "Where's
Wally".
Picture drawing
Dot-to-dot worksheets or puzzles.
Review work: Encourage your child to identify
mistakes i n written material.
Memory games
Construction-type activities such as Duplo, Lego
or other building blocks.
Word search puzzles that require you to look for
a series of letter.
Copy 3-D block designs
Identify objects by touch: Place plastic letters into
a baa, and have the child identity the letter by
"feel"'.
 ?
nino.muradashvili@ciu.edu.ge