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

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.
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...
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,...
Parallel Processing01:20

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...
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...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

The mind's average: Unseen, internally generated ensemble representations can guide visual attention.

Attention, perception & psychophysics·2026
Same author

'Not so intuitive' physics: Orientation supersedes stability in prioritizing attention.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2025
Same author

Rapid development of inhibitory effects in response to novel features: It's mostly target-feature enhancement.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2025
Same author

Examining visual prior entry of semantic affective valences: positive is biased over negative.

Cognition & emotion·2025
Same author

Selectively attended information is obligatorily encoded into visual working memory.

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance·2025
Same author

The fate of visual working memory items after their job is done.

Journal of vision·2025
Same journal

Evidence for abstract spatial concept learning in young animals.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Blurred lines or clear boundaries? Synchrony and social dominance shape domain-specific self-other processing.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Knowability predicts curiosity and learning.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Throwing good effort after bad: Evidence for a sunk-cost effect in cognitive effort-based decision-making.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Cross-linguistic differences in incremental planning under uncertainty.

Cognition·2026
Same journal

Sensory attenuation scales with the strength of action-outcome coupling: A psychophysical study.

Cognition·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

Hand position alters vision by biasing processing through different visual pathways.

Davood G Gozli1, Greg L West, Jay Pratt

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. d.gharagozli@utoronto.ca

Cognition
|May 29, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Visual processing near hands prioritizes the magnocellular pathway for action, enhancing temporal tasks. Vision farther away favors the parvocellular pathway for perception, improving spatial tasks.

More Related Videos

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

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

Published on: April 11, 2025

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects
11:12

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects

Published on: September 18, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 22, 2026

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
09:49

Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior

Published on: April 16, 2014

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

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

Published on: April 11, 2025

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects
11:12

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects

Published on: September 18, 2012

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception
  • Human Factors

Background:

  • The brain processes visual stimuli differently based on their proximity to the hands.
  • Objects near hands are often action-relevant, suggesting specialized visual processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the distinct visual processing mechanisms for stimuli near versus far from the hands.
  • To test the hypothesis that proximity to hands biases visual processing towards either the magnocellular or parvocellular pathway.

Main Methods:

  • Psychophysical tasks were used to assess visual processing.
  • Subjects performed temporal-gap and spatial-gap detection tasks.
  • Stimuli were presented at varying distances relative to the observer's hands.

Main Results:

  • Performance on temporal-gap detection tasks (magnocellular pathway) was superior for stimuli near the hands.
  • Performance on spatial-gap detection tasks (parvocellular pathway) was inferior for stimuli near the hands.
  • These results indicate a shift in visual pathway contribution based on hand proximity.

Conclusions:

  • Visual processing near the hands is biased towards the magnocellular pathway, supporting action-oriented tasks.
  • Visual processing farther from the hands favors the parvocellular pathway, supporting perception-oriented tasks.
  • Altered visual processing near hands is attributed to differential contributions of the magnocellular and parvocellular pathways.