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Related Concept Videos

Visual Agnosia01:12

Visual Agnosia

Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...
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...
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision01:15

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.
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex01:14

Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex

The cerebral cortex, the brain's outermost layer, is pivotal in processing complex cognitive tasks, emotions, and various sensory inputs and executing voluntary motor activities. This intricate structure is divided into three primary functional areas: the motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
07:08

Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings

Published on: August 1, 2018

Grasping in the dark activates early visual cortices.

Marina Kilintari1, Vassilis Raos, Helen E Savaki

  • 1Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, Crete, 71003 Greece.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|September 14, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Action recognition in monkeys involves both somatosensory-motor and visual brain areas. This suggests that internal representations for action cognition integrate visual information alongside motor planning.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Primate Vision

Background:

  • Previous studies showed somatosensory-motor cortex activation during action observation and generation in monkeys.
  • This indicated that learned sensorimotor representations are key for perceiving others' actions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of early visual cortices in action perception.
  • To determine if visual representations complement somatosensory-motor ones during action observation and execution.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the quantitative (14)C-deoxyglucose method to map cortical activity in rhesus monkeys.
  • Monkeys performed reaching and grasping actions in light/dark conditions or observed these actions.

Main Results:

  • Extrastriate visual areas V3d and V3A showed significant activation across all conditions.
  • These activations are linked to processing visuospatial and object-related information for action.

Conclusions:

  • A memorized visual representation of actions supports both recognition and execution, even in darkness.
  • Internal representations for action cognition are multimodal, incorporating both visual and somatosensory-motor components.