Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

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...
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.
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.
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,...
Gestalt Principles of Perception01:21

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Gestalt principles provide a framework for understanding how humans perceive objects as unified wholes within their context. These principles are essential in explaining the cognitive processes that make sense of complex visual stimuli by organizing them into coherent groups. One fundamental principle is proximity, which posits that objects located close to each other are perceived as a collective group. For instance, when dots are positioned near one another, the visual system interprets them...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Understanding Visual Perception.

Journal of cognitive neuroscience·2025
Same author

The Demands of Geometry on Color Vision.

Vision (Basel, Switzerland)·2019
Same author

An Alternative Theory of Binocularity.

Frontiers in computational neuroscience·2019
Same author

Opinion: What does AI's success playing complex board games tell brain scientists?

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2019
Same author

Reply to Goffinet: In consonance, old ideas die hard.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2018
Same author

Vocal similarity predicts the relative attraction of musical chords.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2017
Same journal

Chemotactic self-organization captures the dynamics of mammalian hair follicle patterning.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Tomographic imaging of superconducting order using particle-hole interference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inhibitory potential of autologous neutralizing antibodies sets quantitative limits on the rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Inferring epidemiological parameters under an infectious phylogeography model with visitor dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Analytical modeling for suction cup designs for skin-interfaced wearable devices.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation
04:43

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Understanding vision in wholly empirical terms.

Dale Purves1, William T Wojtach, R Beau Lotto

  • 1Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore 169857. purves@neuro.duke.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|March 9, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Our visual perception does not directly represent reality. Instead, vision science suggests that what we see is based on learned associations between visual input and behavioral significance, not direct object properties.

More Related Videos

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
06:54

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions

Published on: June 21, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Visualizing Visual Adaptation
04:43

Visualizing Visual Adaptation

Published on: April 24, 2017

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions
06:54

Methods for Presenting Real-world Objects Under Controlled Laboratory Conditions

Published on: June 21, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Vision science
  • Perception psychology
  • Cognitive neuroscience

Background:

  • The nature of visual information and its basis in perception.
  • Implications of empirical concepts for sensory processing.
  • Current understanding of how the visual system interprets retinal data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the relationship between visual perception and empirical information.
  • To re-evaluate the concept of vision based on empirical associations.
  • To understand the functional role of visual processing in behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of evidence from studies on lightness, brightness, color, form, and motion.
  • Theoretical consideration of empirical associations in visual perception.
  • Examination of the limitations of retinal light patterns in representing the physical world.

Main Results:

  • Visual perception does not directly represent the actual properties of objects or images.
  • The visual system does not access the physical world via retinal light patterns alone.
  • Phenomenology of visual perception is explained by empirical associations linking undetermined images to behavioral significance.

Conclusions:

  • Vision requires a fundamental re-conceptualization of what is seen and how the visual system operates.
  • Empirical associations are key to understanding visual perception and its link to behavior.
  • The study challenges direct realism in vision science, proposing an empirically-based model.