What is perception/eyesight

and how is it processed in the

brain?Tamara Mahony

“process of becoming aware of the world around us through our senses and being able to respond to it”

It is the organization, identification and interpretation of sensory info

Eyesight is a person’s ability to see

Eyes and the brain work together to perceive depth, allowing us to judge distance and the size of objects to help us move around them.

What’s the difference between sensation and perception? Sensation is the gathering of info from the

environment through your senses and perception is understanding what is being

sensed

Why is perception important?

We must connect to the world around us

It enables us to literally navigate through the world, avoiding danger, making decisions, and preparing for action

Perception happens in five ways: • Sight• Sound• Touch• Smell• Taste

Process of perception

3. interpretation: now we can interpret it in a way that makes sense using stuff we already know about the world

1. selection: focusing on a certain stimuli (aka energy pattern)

2. organization: sensory receptors send messages to our brains so we can organize what we receive

What does the brain do?Finds edges

Detects colors

Locates objects in

space

Determines object

features

Figure ground

recognition

What is used in the brain?Receptors: specialized cells that responds to sensory stimuli

Retina: thin layer of cells at the back of the eyeball where the brain first encounters light

Most of the nerve cells from the retina go to the visual cortex (receives and processes sensory nerve impulses from the eyes)

How is it processed in the brain?

For the brain to process the stuff we see, light waves must first pass through the eyes.

The photoreceptors of the retina then sends the information from the eye to the brain.

The visual centers of the brain then process and decode these signals, which is now seen as visual information (aka the images we see everyday all around us)