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orientation column

a vertical slab of striate cortex in which all the neurons are maximally responsive to stimuli of the same orientation. Adjacent columns have slightly different orientation preferences, so that electrode penetration tangential to the cortical surface that passes through many columns would encounter neurons with orientation preferences that shift smoothly around a reference axis. Compare ocular dominance column. [first described in the 1960s and 1970s by U.S. neurophysiologist David Hubel (1926–2013) and Swedish neurophysiologist Torsten Wiesel (1924–  )]

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

postural aftereffect

postural aftereffect

a change in posture that arises as an aftereffect of prior stimulation. For example, when viewing a moving scene, a person typically leans in the direction of the motion. When viewing ends, body posture returns to a vertical position and then, briefly, leans in the opposite direction.