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

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.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual Constancy

Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...

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.

Factors Affecting Perception

Factors Affecting Perception

Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...

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...

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

In-scanner thoughts contribute to resting-state functional connectivity.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

A new fMRI quality metric using multi-echo information: Theory, validation and implications.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Mapping high-amplitude fMRI edge time series events across space and time.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2026

Same author

Challenges and opportunities of mesoscopic brain mapping with fMRI.

Current opinion in behavioral sciences·2026

Same author

Eye metrics often reflect visual conscious awareness, conscious content, and neural processing in cerebral blindness.

Communications biology·2025

Same author

The human brain mechanisms of afterimages: From networks to cortical layers.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2025

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

Visual imagery vividness correlates with afterimage conscious perception.

Sharif I Kronemer¹, Micah Holness¹, A Tyler Morgan^1,2

¹Section on Functional Imaging Methods, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology

|January 3, 2024

Summary

Vivid visual imagery is linked to stronger afterimages. This suggests shared brain mechanisms for conscious visual perception, even without direct sensory input.

More Related Videos

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

Published on: May 31, 2018

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2025

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Using a Classroom-Based Deese Roediger McDermott Paradigm to Assess the Effects of Imagery on False Memories

Published on: November 14, 2018

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners

Published on: May 31, 2018

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Published on: November 16, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology
Visual Perception

Background:

Afterimages are typically attributed to retinal signaling persistence.
However, sensory-independent afterimages suggest top-down brain mechanisms are involved.
These may share features with other conscious perceptions like imagery and dreams.

Approach:

Investigated the relationship between visual imagery vividness and afterimage perception.
Participants rated visual imagery vividness and afterimage characteristics (sharpness, contrast, duration).
Perceptual matching paradigms validated on image stimuli were used.

Key Points:

Vividness of visual imagery positively correlated with afterimage contrast.
Vividness of visual imagery also positively correlated with afterimage sharpness.
Behavioral data support shared neural underpinnings for visual imagery and afterimages.

Conclusions:

The study provides evidence for shared neural mechanisms between visual imagery and afterimages.
Suggests that top-down processing influences afterimage perception.
Encourages further research using neurophysiological methods to explore these shared mechanisms.