Overview of visual system structure and function

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (Book)Otherpeer-review

Abstract

The fundamental role of the visual system is to analyze properties such as form, color and motion in the environment, facilitating the generation of behaviors conducive to survival. A (happy) outcome of these computations is that humans are endowed with conscious visual perception. Despite the complexity of processing in the visual system, we experience a single, unified and continuous percept. This review describes the general anatomy and physiology of the primate visual system, emphasizing four organizational principles and processing strategies that ultimately inform perception and behavior: information processing is functionally segregated; information is encoded in a multiplexed manner; information is hierarchically processed, dependent on feedback and feedforward connectivity; vision is an active sense, with perception and eye movements tightly integrated.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Constitution of Visual Consciousness
Subtitle of host publicationLessons from Binocular Rivalry
EditorsSteven M. Miller
Place of PublicationAmsteredam The Netherlands
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
Pages37-76
Number of pages40
ISBN (Electronic)9789027271822
ISBN (Print)9789027213570
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Aug 2013

Publication series

NameAdvances in Consciousness Research
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company
Volume90

Cite this