Lesson 1
biopsychology is an infant-----a healthy, rapidly
BIOPSYCHOLOGY AS A NEUROSCIENCE
Defining Biopsychology
• Biopsychology is the scientific study of the biology
of behavior. Some refer to this
psychobiology, behavioral biology, or behavioral
neuroscience; but we prefer the term biopsychology
because it denotes a biological approach to the
study of psychology rather than a psychological
approach to the study of biology.
WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS OF
BIOPSYCHOLOGY?
• The study of the biology of behavior has a long
history, but biopsychology did not develop into a
major neuroscientific discipline until the 20th century.
Although it is not possible to specify the exact date
of biopsychology’s birth, the publication of The
Organization of Behavior in 1949 by D.O. Hebb
played a key role in its emergence.
• In his book, Hebb developed
comprehensive theory of how
psychological phenomena, such as perceptions,
emotions, thoughts, and memories, might be
produced by brain activity. Hebb’s theory did not
much to discredit the view that psychological
functioning is too complex to have its roots in the
physiology and chemistry of the brain.
• Hebb based his theory on experiments involving
both humans and laboratory animals, on clinical
case studies, and on logical arguments developed
from his own insightful observations of daily life. This
eclectic approach has become a hallmark of
biopsychological inquiry.
• In comparison to physics, chemistry, and biology,
growing infant, but an infant nonetheless. In this text,
you will reap the benefits of biopsychology’s youth.
Because biopsychology does not have a long and
complex history, you will be able to move quickly to
field as the excitement of current research.
HOW IS BIOPSYCHOLOGY RELATED TO THE
OTHER DISCIPLINES OF NEUROSCIENCE?
• Neuroscience is a team effort, and
biopsychologists are important members of the
team. Biopsychology can be further defined by its
relation to other neuroscientific disciplines.
• Biopsychologists are neuroscientists who bring to
their research a knowledge of behavior and of the
methods of behavioral research.
• It is their behavioral orientation and expertise that
make their contribution to neuroscience unique. You
will be able to better appreciate the importance of
this contribution if you consider that the ultimate
purpose of the nervous system is to produce and
the first
control behavior.
complex
• Biopsychology is an integrative discipline.
Biopsychologists draw together knowledge from the
other neuroscientific disciplines and apply it to the
study of behavior.
• The following are a few of the disciplines of
neuroscience that are particularly relevant to
biopsychology
DISCIPLINES OF NEUROSCIENCE RELATED TO
BIOPSYCHOLOGY
• Neuroanatomy: The study of the structure of the
nervous system.
• Neurochemistry: The study of the chemical bases
of neural activity.
• Neuroendocrinology: The study of interactions
between the nervous system and the endocrine
system.
• Neuropathology: The study of nervous system
disorders.
• Neuropharmacology: The study of the effects of
drugs on neural activity.
• Neurophysiology: The study of the functions and
activities of the nervous system.
WHAT TYPES OF RESEARCH CHARACTERIZE
THE BIOPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
• Although biopsychology is only one of many
disciplines that contribute to neuroscience, it is
broad and diverse. Biopsychologists study many
different phenomena, and they approach their
research in many different ways. In order to
characterize biopsychological research, this book
discusses three major dimensions along which
approaches to biopsychological research vary.
• Biopsychological research can involve either:
• Human or Non-human Subjects
• Experiments and Non-experiments
• Pure research and Applied research
WHAT ARE THE DIVISIONS OF
BIOPSYCHOLOGY?
• As you have just learned, biopsychologists conduct
their research in a variety of fundamentally different
ways. Biopsychologists who take the same
approaches to their research tend to publish their
research in the same journals, attend the same
scientific meetings, and belong to the same
professional societies.
• The particular approaches to biopsychology that
have flourished and grown have gained wide
recognition as separate divisions of biopsychological
research. The purpose of this book is to give you a
clearer sense of biopsychology and its diversity by
describing six of its major divisions.
MAJOR DIVISIONS OF BIOPSYCHOLOGY
• Physiological Psychology: Is the division of
biopsychology that studies the neural mechanisms
of behavior through the direct manipulation and
recording of the brain in controlled experiments-----
surgical and electrical methods are most common.
• The subjects of physiological psychology research
are almost always laboratory animals because the
focus on direct brain manipulation and controlled
experiments precludes the use of human
participants in most instances. There is also a
tradition of pure research in physiological
psychology; the emphasis is usually on research that
contributes to the development of theories of the
neural control of behavior rather than on research of
immediate practical benefit.
• Psychopharmacology: It is similar to
physiological psychology except that it focuses on
the manipulation of neural activity and behavior with
drugs. In fact, many of the early always done with an eye toward benefiting them in
psychopharmacologists were simply physiological some way. Neuropsychological tests facilitate
psychologists who moved into drug research, and diagnosis and thus help the attending physician
many of today’s biopsychologists identify closely prescribe effective treatment. They can also be an
with both approaches. important basis for patient care and counseling.

• However, the study of the effects of drugs on the • Psychophysiology: Is the division of
brain and behavior has become so specialized that biopsychology that studies the relation between
psychopharmacology is regarded as a separate physiological activity and psychological processes in
discipline. A substantial portion of human subjects. Because the subjects of
psychopharmacological research is applied. psychophysiological research are human,
Although drugs are sometimes used by psychophysiological recording procedures are
psychopharmacologists to study the basic principles typically non-invasive; that is, the physiological
of brain-behavior interaction, the purpose of many activity is recorded from the surface of the body.
psychopharmacological experiments is to develop
• The usual measure of brain activity is the scalp
therapeutic drugs or to reduce drug abuse.
electroencephalogram (EEG). Other common
• Psychopharmacologists study the effects of drugs psychophysiological measures are muscle tension,
on laboratory species-----and on humans, if the eye movement, and several indicators of autonomic
ethics of the situation permits it. nervous system activity (e.g., heart rate, blood
pressure, pupil dilation, and electrical conductance
• Neuropsychology: Is the study of the
of the skin).
psychological effects of brain damage in human
patients. Because human volunteers cannot • The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the
ethically be exposed to experimental treatments that division of the nervous system that regulates the
endanger normal brain function, neuropsychology body’s inner environment.
deals almost exclusively with case studies and
• Most psychophysiological research focuses on
quasi-experimental studies of patients with brain
understanding the physiology of psychological
damage resulting from disease, accident, or
processes, such as attention, emotion, and
neurosurgery.
information processing.
• The outer layer of the cerebral hemisphere----- the
• Cognitive Neuroscience: Is the youngest division
cerebral cortex-----is most likely to be damaged by
of biopsychology. Cognitive neuroscientists study
accident or surgery; this is one reason why
the neural bases of cognition, a term that generally
neuropsychology has focused on this important part
refers to higher intellectual processes such as
of the human brain.
thought, memory, attention, and complex perceptual
• Neuropsychology is the most applied of the processes.
biopsychological sub-disciplines, the
• Because of its focus on cognition, most cognitive
neuropsychological assessment of human patients,
neuroscience research involves human participants,
even when part of a program of pure research, is
and because of its focus on human participants, its • Consider, for example, the relative strengths and
methods tend to be non-invasive, rather than weaknesses of neuropsychology and physiological
involving penetration or direct manipulation of the psychology in the study of the psychological effects
brain. of damage to the human cerebral cortex. In this
instance, the strength of the neuropsychological
• The major method of cognitive neuroscience is
approach is that it deals directly with human patients;
functional brain imaging: recording images of the
its weakness is that its focus on human patients
activity of the living human brain while a participant
precludes experiments.
is engaged in a particular cognitive activity.
• In contrast, the strength of the physiological
• Comparative Psychology: The division of
psychology approach is that it can bring the power
biopsychology that deals generally with the biology
of the experimental method and neuroscientific
of the behavior, rather than specifically with the
technology to bear through research on non-human
neural mechanisms of behavior. Comparative
animals; its weakness is that the relevance of
psychologists compare the behavior of different
research on laboratory animals to human
species in order to understand the evolution,
neuropsychological deficits is always open to
genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior.
question.
• Some comparative psychologists study behavior in
• Clearly these two approaches complement each
the laboratory; other engage in ethological
other well; together they can answer questions that
research-----the study of animal behavior in its
neither can answer individually.
natural environment.

HOW DO BIOPSYCHOLOGISTS CONDUCT

THEIR WORK?

• Because none of the six biopsychological

approaches to research is without its shortcomings
and because of the complexity of the brain and its
role in psychological processes, major
biopsychological issues are rarely resolved by a
single experiment or even by a single series of
experiments taking the same general approach.

• Progress is most likely when different approaches

are focused on a single problem in such a way that
the strength of one approach compensate for the
weaknesses of the others; this combined approach
is called converging operations.
Lesson 2 THE SYNAPSE
• Synaptic Space (synaptic cleft) -Tiny gap
between neurons
THE NEURONS
• Terminal Button - Enlarged area at the end of an
PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
axon
• Everything psychological is simultaneously
• The Synapse - Composed of the terminal button of
biological.
one neuron, the synaptic space, and the dendrites or
• The nervous system is complexity built from cell body of the receiving neuron
simplicity.
• The brain is both specialized and integrated.
• The nervous system is “plastic” especially at early
ages of development.

THE NEURONS AND ITS FUNCTION

• About 100 billion neurons (nerve cells) in the
human brain.
• Neurons have many of the same features as other TRANSMISSION BETWEEN NEURONS
cells
• Synaptic Vesicles - Sacs in terminal button that
• Nucleus release chemicals into synaptic space
• Cytoplasm • Neurotransmitters - Chemicals released by
• Cell membrane synaptic vesicles

• What makes neurons unique is their shape and • Receptor Sites - Location on receptor neuron for
function specific neurotransmitter
Synaptic Transmission

STRUCTURE OF NEURONS Synapse – The microscopic gap that serves as a

• Dendrites - Carry information to the cell body from
other neurons
• Cell Body (Soma) - Contains nucleus
• Axon - Carries information to the next cell
• Myelin Sheath - Insulates the axon and speeds up
the neural impulse
communications link between neurons. Synapses
also occur between neurons and the muscles or
glands they serve.
TYPES AND FUNCTION OF NEURONS
Sensory Neurons
• Carry information from sensory systems to the
brain
• Also referred to as afferent
➢ Carry messages from the receptors to the CNS
Motor Neurons
• Carry information from the brain to muscles and
glands
• Also referred to as efferent
➢ Carry messages from the CNS to muscles and • Generated by the movement of positively charged
glands atoms in and out of channels in the axon’s
Interneurons membrane

• Carry information between other neurons • This process is due to stimulation from either heat,
chemicals, pressure or light.
➢ Are located in the CNS and are the link
between sensory and motor neurons
GLIAL CELLS
• Cells that insulate and support neurons
• Create the myelin sheath
• Remove waste products
• Provide nourishment
• Prevent harmful substances from entering the THE NEURAL IMPULSE
brain
Polarization
STRUCTURE OF GLIAL CELL
• When the inside of the Neuron is negatively
charged relative to the outside (resting potential)

Depolarization

• When the electrical charge of a cell moves toward

zero

NEURAL COMMUNICATION
Resting Potential
➢ Nothing is happening. The gates are closed and
the positive ions are on the outside with the Refractory Period
negative ions on the side of the cell.
➢ “Negative Ions inside the Neuron is Natural” • The time it takes for the positive ions to be pumped
out.
Action Potential – (Neural Impulse)
Threshold
➢ A neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that
travels down an axon. • The level of stimulation required to trigger a neural
impulse.
Graded Potentials
• What starts this whole process?
• A shift in the electrical charge in a tiny area of a
neuron
• Many subthreshold depolarizations are added
together to produce an action potential (a process
known as summation)
All-or-None Law REUPTAKE
• A neuron either fires or it does not • Neurotransmitters in the synapse are reabsorbed
into the sending neurons through the process of
• When it does fire, it will always produce an impulse
reuptake. This process applies the brakes on
of the same strength
neurotransmitter action.
• Intensity of a stimulus is seen by the frequency of
action potentials
• A neuron can’t fire just a little bit it either “fires” or it
doesn’t
• Technical term: action potential (means neuron
firing)

LOCK & KEY MECHANISM

THE SYNAPSE
• A junction between the axon tip of the sending
neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving
neuron. This tiny gap is called the synaptic gap or
cleft.
• Neurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the
receiving neuron in a key-lock mechanism.
AGONISTS
• Mimicking or impersonating naturally occurring
neurotransmitters, like a hairpin a lock, agonists are
able to unlock a cell to produce an effect.
ANTAGONISTS
• Working in the opposite way antagonist block the
receptor like jamming glue into a keyhole so that it
may not be opened.

SOME WELL KNOWN NEUROTRANSMITTERS

Acetylcholine (ACh):
• Released at the neuromuscular junction
• Plays an important role in arousal and attention
• Loss of ACh producing cells is linked to Alzheimer’s
Disease
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
• Too much = Spasms/Too little = Paralysis
• Chemicals released from the sending neuron travel
across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the
receiving neuron, thereby influencing it to generate
Dopamine
an action potential.
• Affects neurons associated with voluntary
movement and pleasure
• Play a role in learning, memory, and emotions
• Implicated in Parkinson’s Disease and
Schizophrenia
Serotonin Antipsychotic Medications
• Found throughout the brain • Block dopamine receptors
• Appears to sets an “emotional tone” • Reduces schizophrenic hallucinations
• Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal Caffeine
• Low serotonin level is implicated in depression • Increases the release of excitatory
• Some antidepressant drugs raise serotonin neurotransmitters by blocking the inhibitory
neurotransmitter adenosine
Cocaine
Endorphins
• Prevents the reabsorption of dopamine
• Reduce pain by inhibiting or “turning down”
neurons that transmit pain information • Leads to heightened arousal of entire nervous
system
• “runner’s high”
NEURAL PLASTICITY

Norepinephrine • The brain can be changed, both structurally and

• Helps control alertness and arousal
• Undersupply can depress mood
GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid)
• A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in
memory
• Oversupply linked to seizures, tremors, and
insomnia
chemically, by experience
• Rat studies show that an “enriched” environment
leads to larger neurons with more connections
• Has also been shown in humans
• Recent research has uncovered evidence of
neurogenesis, or the production of new brain cells,
in human brains

PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
• Most psychoactive drugs (and toxins) work by
blocking or enhancing synaptic transmission

Botulism
• Blocks release of ACh at the neuromuscular
junction, causing paralysis
• “Botox” is botulism toxin used to prevent facial
muscles from making wrinkles

Curare (koo-ra-ray)
• Can stun or kill prey quickly
• Block ACh receptors causing paralysis
Lesson 3
THE BRAIN
THE STRUCTURE OF THE VERTEBRATE
NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Central Nervous System and The Peripheral
Nervous System
• The Central Nervous System consists of the brain
and the spinal cord
• The Central Nervous System communicates with
the rest of the body via the Peripheral Nervous
System
DIVISION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
• The Peripheral Nervous System is composed of
bundles of axons between the spinal cord and the
rest of the body
• There are two sets of subdivisions of the Peripheral
Nervous System
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Somatic Nervous System and Autonomic
Nervous System
• The Somatic Nervous System is made up of the
peripheral nerves that communicate with the skin
and muscles
• The Autonomic Nervous System controls the
involuntary actions of the heart, stomach, and other
organs
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Embryological Development
• During the embryonic stage, the vertebrate nervous
system forms out of a simple tube with three lumps:
• The forebrain that becomes the cerebral cortex and
other higher structures
• The midbrain and the hindbrain become the
brainstem
• The forebrain is especially dominant in human
beings
THE HUMAN BRAIN DEVELOPS AS THREE
LUMPS
STRUCTURE OF THE BRAIN
The Forebrain
• The forebrain has two separate hemispheres,
left and right
• Each hemisphere controls sensation and motor
functioning on the opposite side of the body
• The hemispheres of the brain communicate with
each other through a thick bundle of axons crossing
between them, called the corpus callosum
Cerebral Cortex
• The outer covering of the forebrain
• It is made up of the gray matter, the cell bodies of
the cortical neurons
• The interior of the forebrain is made up of white
matter or axons of cortical neurons. It is white
because of the myelin that coats axons
The Four Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex BETWEEN THE SPINAL CORD AND THE
FOREBRAIN
• It is customary to represent the areas of the
cerebral cortex as four lobes: occipital, parietal,
temporal, and frontal The Hindbrain and Midbrain

• The medulla, pons, and midbrain contain the

• The occipital lobe is at the rear of the head, and
reticular system (or reticular formation)
contains many specialized areas for interpreting
• This structure regulates levels of arousal in the
visual sensory information
brain
• There are areas both inside and outside the THE HINDBRAIN
occipital lobes for shape, color, and motion vision • The cerebellum is important for coordination and
timing
• The parietal lobe is directly in front of the occipital
• It is also in charge of tasks that requiring shifting of
lobe
attention and discrimination between stimuli
• It contains the primary somatosensory cortex, • The medulla oblongata and the pons are two
the area of the brain that is specialized for body important structures in the hindbrain
senses and awareness of the location of body parts • They contain the axons that control breathing and
heart rate
• The temporal lobes are located on the sides of the
• They are also in charge of relaying sensory
head, near the ears information from the head and sending motor
messages back to it
• They are the main processing areas for hearing
THE SPINAL CORD
and complex aspects of vision
• Both reflex and voluntary responses are conducted
• The left temporal lobe contains important areas for
through the spinal cord
language processing and comprehension
• A reflex is a rapid, automatic response to a
Other structures that lie under or near the temporal
stimulus. The spinal cord is usually the origination
lobe include the hypothalamus, amygdala, and
hippocampus. point of these responses
• The hypothalamus helps to regulate emotional
• A voluntary response originates in the brain and
and motivated behavior
travels through the spinal cord to the muscles
• The amygdala, an almond-shaped structure that is
needed to carry out the movements
crucial for emotional processing, is deep inside the
temporal lobes • The spinal cord communicates with the body below
• The hippocampus is a vital structure for memory the head by means of sensory and motor neurons
processing
• The sensory neurons carry information received by
• The frontal lobes are at the front of the brain
the senses from the extremities of the body to the
• They contain the primary motor cortex, and area
spinal cord
that is important for control of fine movements

• The foremost part of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal • The motor neurons transmit messages from the
cortex, is responsible for organization, planning of central nervous system to the muscles and glands
action, and aspects of memory
 THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Autonomic Nervous System
• A division of the peripheral nervous system that is
closely associated with the spinal cord
• The individual has very little control over the
responses in this division, thus the name, autonomic
• The Autonomic Nervous System has two
subdivisions:
The Divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System
• The Sympathetic Nervous System is the crisis
management center
• It increases heart and respiration rate and prepares
the body for fight or flight
• A chain of neurons lying just outside the spinal cord
controls it
• The Parasympathetic Nervous System is in
charge of long-term survival related functions,
nutrition, and energy conservation
• It decreases heart rate, increases digestive
activities and promotes processes in the body that
take place during rest
• It is controlled by neurons at the upper and lower
levels of the spinal cord
COMPARISON BETWEEN SYMPATHETIC AND
PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
The Endocrine System is under the control of the
Nervous System
• The Endocrine System is a system of glands that
release hormones into the bloodstream
• Hormones are chemicals that affect mood,
behavior, and even anatomy
• Some neurotransmitters act as hormones when
released into the bloodstream.
• An example of one of these is Epinephrine, which
is also called Adrenalin when it is acting as a
hormone.
BRAIN RESEARCH
MEASURING BRAIN ACTIVITY
• Methods for looking at and mapping the brain
include:
• Electroencephalogram and
Magnetoencephalogram (EEGs and MEGs)
record electrical and magnetic activity in the brain
• These readouts do not allow the viewing of brain
activity
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) provides
a high-resolution picture of brain activity using
radioactivity from chemicals injected into the
bloodstream
• The color of the image indicates the level of activity;
red areas are most active, followed by yellow, green,
and blue for the least active areas
• PET scans provide fascinating information, but are
expensive and can be risky to the subject.
• Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
uses magnetic detections outside the head to
measure the amounts of hemoglobin and oxygen in
different areas of the brain.
• Highly active areas of the brain appear to use more
oxygen in fMRI images.
• It is amazing that people can lose just one aspect
of vision, for example, color, motion, or the ability to
recognize faces.
The Two Halves of the Brain

THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRAIN • Work with individuals who have had the “split-brain”

EXPERIENCE AND THE BRAIN
Nerve Cell Generation
• Neurons can be generated later in life (to a
limited extent)
• It was once thought that all neurons developed well
before birth
• Researchers have discovered stem cells –
undifferentiated cells growing in some brain areas
that are capable of developing into neurons in older
organisms
operation (severing the corpus callosum) to control
seizures provides evidence that the two
hemispheres are highly specialized.
• The right hemisphere needs to communicate with
the left in order to name the objects in its visual field.
• The left hemisphere needs the right in order to
synthesize details into a whole picture (the parts of a
face into a whole recognizable image)
RIGHT AND LEFT HEMISPHERE OF THE BRAIN

Neuronal generation is generally very limited in

scope

• The action of stem cells seems to be stimulated

after some types of brain damage, so their purpose
may be in part compensatory.

• The growth of new neurons is much more limited

than that which occurs in skin and hair cells.
THE BRAIN AND THE SELF
Learning changes the brain
• We are still learning about the brain, but we now
• We now know, because we can “see” the brain, and understand that your brain is composed of many
its activity that practicing behaviors (learning to play separate areas with separate abilities.
a musical instrument, for example) can change the
• If you lose part of the brain, you lose part of your
structure of the brain by altering the cortical neurons.
unique experience.
The “Binding Problem”
• Brain activity and mind are inseparable. One is the
• We still don’t understand precisely how all the other.
different parts of the brain allow us to have a unified
experience of objects and events, since the areas of
the brain that help us analyze our experience are
often not directly connected to each other.
Lesson 4 THE EYE: CONVERTING LIGHT INTO NEURAL
IMPULSES

Pathway for Vision:

THE VISUAL SYSTEM
Cornea: Where light enters the eye.
VISUAL CODING
Lens: Focuses the light rays on the retina.
VISION: THE STIMULUS
Iris: Colored ring of muscle, constricts or dilates via
Light: Electromagnetic radiation; travels as wave.
amount of light.
Amplitude: Height of waves; perception of
Pupil: Regulates amount of light coming into the
brightness.
eye.
Wavelength: Distance between peaks; perception
• The Iris – the colored part
of color.
• The Pupil – the dark part
• The visual spectrum is only a portion of the total
range of wavelengths. THE LENS: CONVERTING LIGHT INTO NEURAL
IMPULSES
• Visual input must be converted into neural impulses
that are sent to the brain. Accommodation: The curvature of the lens adjusts
to alter visual focus.
Purity: How varied the mix of wavelengths is.
Problems with this leads to:
Saturation: Relative amount of whiteness in a color,
or richness of colors. Nearsightedness: Close objects seen clearly;
distant objects blurry.
THE EYE
Farsightedness: Distant objects seen clearly; close
CONVERTING LIGHT INTO NEURAL IMPULSES
objects appear blurry
• Two Purposes of the Eyes:
THE RETINA: AN EXTENSION OF THE
• Channeling light to neural tissue that receives it. CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Housing the tissue. Retina: Absorbs light, processes images, sends

visual information to the brain.
ANATOMY OF THE EYE
• Optic Nerve: Bundle of neurons that carries visual
information from the retina to the brain.

• Optic Disk/Blind Spot: point where the optic nerve

exists the eye and where they are no
photoreceptors.
 OPTIC NERVE AND OPTIC DISK THE VISUAL PROCESSES OF INFORMATION IN
THE BRAIN
• The retina is composed of specialized
photoreceptor cells that convert light energy into • Light strikes the photoreceptors and triggers neural
nerve energy. impulses --- sent to optic nerve.

Rods: Black and white/low light vision; more Bipolar Cells: combine information from
sensitive in dim light – peripheral vision; greatest photoreceptors; send results to ganglion cells.
density just outside the fovea. Rods outnumber
Ganglion Cells: integrate information into single
cones by a huge margin.
firing rate to optic nerve.
Cones: Color and daylight vision; do not respond
Horizontal Cells: connect receptors.
well in dim light. Cones provide better visual acuity
(sharpness/precise detail). Amacrine Cells: connect bipolar to bipolar; ganglion
to ganglion.

RETINA REVIEW
Retina:
• Light-sensitive layer at the back of the eyeball.
• Photoreceptors – Light-sensitive cells in the retina
that convert light energy to neural impulses.
• Rods – Sensitive to dim light but not colors.
INFORMATION PROCESSING IN THE RETINA
• Receptive Field: area on the retina that, when
stimulated, affects the firing of that cell. Come in a
variety of shapes and sizes.
• Lateral Antagonism: neural activity in a cell
opposes activity in surrounding cells.

• Cones – Sensitive to colors but not dim light

Fovea – Area of sharpest vision in the retina; densely THE PARALLEL PROCESSING IN THE VISUAL
packed cones. CORTEX

THE RETINA AND THE BRAIN: VISUAL

INFORMATION PROCESSING
ADAPTATION
• Light – rods and cones – neural signals – bipolar
• Dark Adaptation: Eyes become more sensitive to
cells – ganglion cells – optic nerve – optic chiasm –
light in low illumination (enter dark theater on bright
opposite half brain.
day). Complete in 30 minutes; major progress in first
10 minutes. • Main pathway: lateral geniculate nucleus
(thalamus) – primary visual cortex (occipital lobe)
• Light Adaptation: Eyes become less sensitive to
light in high illumination (leaving school to go to your • Magnocellular Channels: were
car/bus)
• Parvocellular Channels: what
• Secondary pathway: superior colliculus – thalamus
– primary visual cortex
HUBEL & WIESEL: FEATURE DETECTORS
• Early 1960’s:
• Microelectrode recording of axons in primary visual
cortex of animals.
• Discovered feature detectors: neurons that
respond selectively to lines, edges, etc.
• Simple Cells: respond most strongly to bars of
light in their “favorite” orientation.
• Complex Cells: respond most strongly to moving
bars of light in their “favorite” orientation.
• Hypercomplex Cells: respond most strongly to
moving bars of light of a particular length or angle.
BASICS OF COLOR VISION
Wavelength ----- Intensity (amplitude)
Color ----- Brightness
• Wavelength – determines color
Longer = red / Shorter = violet
• Amplitude – determines brightness
• Purity – determines saturation
• Hue: the qualitative experience of color of the light
stimulus.
• Saturation: purity/vividness of color sensations.
• Brightness: intensity of light.
• Color: psychological sensation derived from the
wavelength of visible light --- color, itself, is not a
property of the external world.
• Subtractive Color Mixing: remove wavelengths of
light leaving less there.
• Additive Color Mixing: superimposing lights,
putting lighter in the mixture than exists with one light
by itself.
THEORIES OF COLOR VISION
• Trichromatic Theory: Young and Helmsholtz
• Receptors for red, green, blue – color mixing
• Opponent Process Theory: Hering
• All color experiences arise from 3 systems, each of
which includes 2 opponent elements
• Red/green, blue/yellow, black/white
• Current perspective: both theories necessary
Afterimages:
• Visual sensations that linger after the stimulus is
removed; color of the image is the complement of
the color you originally stared at.
COLOR BLINDNESS
• The inability to distinguish colors
• Affects more males than females
• Most common; inability to distinguish red from
green.
PERCEIVING FORMS, PATTERNS, AND
OBJECTS
• Reversible figures: drawings that have two
interpretations that can shift back and forth.
• Perceptual sets: motivational forces can foster
perceptual sets.
• Inattentional blindness: failure to see objects
because attention is focused elsewhere.
• Feature Detection Theory – bottom-up • Motion parallax
processing • Accommodation

• Form Perception – top-down processing • Pictorial depth cues

• Subjective contours – perceive contours where

none actually exist.
STABILITY IN THE PERCEPTUAL WORLD:
• Gestalt psychologists: the whole is more than the PERCEPTUAL CONSTANCIES

sum of its parts. Perceptual Constancies – stable perceptions amid

changing stimuli.
Reversible figures and perceptual sets demonstrate • Size
that the same visual stimulus can result in very
• Shape
different perceptions.
• Brightness
• Hue

PRINCIPLES OF PERCEPTION • Location in space

Gestalt Principles of Form Perception:

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS: THE POWER OF
➢ Figure-ground
MISLEADING CUES
➢ Proximity
➢ Similarity Optical Illusions – discrepancy between visual
➢ Continuity appearance and physical reality.
➢ Closure • Cultural differences: perceptual hypotheses at
➢ Simplicity work.
Recent Research:

• Distal (stimuli outside the body) vs Proximal

(stimulus energies impinging on sensory receptors)
stimuli

Perceptual Hypotheses

• Context

DEPTH AND DISTANCE PERCEPTION

Binocular Cues – clues from both eyes together.

• Retinal disparity
• Convergence
Monocular Cues – clues from a single eye