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Related Concept Videos

Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
The Retina01:32

The Retina

The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
Anatomy of the Eyeball01:20

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways01:22

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...
Vision01:24

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
Visual System01:26

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

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Visualizing Visual Adaptation
04:43

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Published on: April 24, 2017

Design of a trichromatic cone array.

Patrick Garrigan1, Charles P Ratliff, Jennifer M Klein

  • 1Department of Psychology, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. patrick.garrigan@sju.edu

Plos Computational Biology
|February 20, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The human retina has unequal numbers of color-sensing cones. Eye optics and natural scene properties explain this arrangement, maximizing visual information across varying L/M cone ratios.

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Area of Science:

  • Vision science
  • Retinal physiology
  • Human optics

Background:

  • Human retinal cone distribution is non-uniform: short-wavelength (S) cones are rare (<10%) and increase peripherally.
  • Long-wavelength (L) and medium-wavelength (M) cone proportions vary significantly between individuals.
  • The functional significance of this cone mosaic organization remains incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how optical properties of the human eye and statistical characteristics of natural scenes influence retinal cone distribution.
  • To determine the factors driving the unequal numbers and variable proportions of L, M, and S cones.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the spatial-chromatic structure of natural scenes.
  • Modeling of ocular media's short-wavelength attenuation.
  • Assessment of the lens's long-wavelength accommodation effects on signal-to-noise ratio.
  • Evaluation of information content across different L/M cone proportions.

Main Results:

  • Natural scenes exhibit largely symmetric spatial-chromatic structures across L, M, and S sensitivity bands.
  • Ocular media's attenuation provides an L/M cone signal-to-noise advantage, amplified by lens accommodation.
  • Retinal information content is robust to variations in L/M cone ratios.

Conclusions:

  • The observed cone array design, coupled with lens accommodation, optimizes visual information transmission.
  • This arrangement provides a selective advantage, ensuring maximal informativeness of the visual system.
  • The visual system's design is a sophisticated adaptation to both optical constraints and environmental statistics.