Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth Perception and Spatial Vision

Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.

Parallel Processing

Parallel Processing

The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...

Anatomy of the Eyeball

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,...

Vision

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.

Color Vision

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.

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Evaluating perceptual performance with pixel-based tactile images.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2026

Same author

Effect of a grace period on false alarm rates of smartwatch-based out-of-hospital cardiac arrest detection systems: a pilot study.

Resuscitation plus·2026

Same author

Normal force in natural active touch correlates with fingertip stiffness.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

Vibrotactile spatial acuity on the back.

Perception·2024

Same author

Hands-Free Haptic Navigation Devices for Actual Walking.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2024

Same author

Influence of Back Length on Vibrotactile Acuity in Vertical Direction.

IEEE transactions on haptics·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

Published on: November 9, 2018

Range dependent processing of visual numerosity: similarities across vision and haptics.

Myrthe A Plaisier¹, Wouter M Bergmann Tiest, Astrid M L Kappers

¹Helmholtz Institute, Universiteit Utrecht, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.plaisier@fbw.vu.nl

Experimental Brain Research

|June 16, 2010

Summary

Numerosity judgment relies on subitizing for small numbers and switches to estimation for larger quantities. This study reveals that the spacing between numbers influences this switch, with distinct processing for numerical versus general magnitude estimation.

More Related Videos

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 12, 2026

A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

A Two-interval Forced-choice Task for Multisensory Comparisons

Published on: November 9, 2018

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Visual Perception

Background:

Subitizing enables rapid, accurate judgment of small numerosities.
Counting and estimation are used for larger numerosities, differing in speed and precision.
The impact of numerical spacing on numerosity judgment remains an area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how the relative spacing of numerosities affects judgment processes.
To determine the conditions under which individuals switch between subitizing, counting, and estimation.
To differentiate number processing from general magnitude estimation.

Main Methods:

Five experiments involving visual presentation of dot arrays.
Subjects judged the numerosity of presented dots.
Response times were recorded to analyze judgment strategies.

Main Results:

A switch from counting to estimation occurred when relative numerosity differences were large (factor of 2).
Numerosity judgment remained faster in the subitizing range compared to estimation.
Fast performance for small numerosities was contingent on the presence of numerical information, not general magnitude.

Conclusions:

Numerical spacing significantly influences the strategy employed for numerosity judgment.
Subitizing represents a distinct, rapid number processing mechanism.
Visual and haptic numerosity judgment appear to share similar underlying processing mechanisms.