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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.

Visual System

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 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...

The Retina

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.

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

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,...

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.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 17, 2026

Using Looming Visual Stimuli to Evaluate Mouse Vision

Using Looming Visual Stimuli to Evaluate Mouse Vision

Published on: June 13, 2019

The pupillary light response reflects encoding, but not maintenance, in visual working memory.

Tessel Blom¹, Sebastiaan Mathôt², Christian N L Olivers³

¹Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance

|July 19, 2016

Summary

The pupil size reflects the encoding of visible stimuli in visual working memory. However, pupil responses do not track task-relevant stimuli once they are no longer physically present.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psychology
Ophthalmology

Background:

The pupillary light response is influenced by cognitive processes beyond simple reflexes, including visual attention.
Understanding how visual working memory interacts with physiological responses like the pupillary light response is crucial for cognitive science.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if the pupillary light response is modulated by stimuli held in visual working memory, even when not physically present.
To determine if the pupil's response to brightness differs during the encoding versus maintenance phases of visual working memory.

Main Methods:

Participants were presented with bright and dark stimuli and instructed to encode and maintain them in visual working memory.
Pupil size was measured during the encoding and maintenance phases of stimuli.
A change-detection task was used to assess working memory performance.

Main Results:

Pupil size was smaller when encoding bright stimuli compared to dark stimuli.
This pupillary modulation based on brightness did not persist during the maintenance phase of visual working memory.
The effect was absent even when stimulus brightness was critical for the working memory task.

Conclusions:

The pupil reflects the encoding of physically present, task-relevant information in visual working memory.
The pupil does not appear sensitive to the maintenance of task-relevant information that is no longer visible.
Pupil size may optimize for perception during encoding, with this function ceasing once stimuli are no longer visible.