visual system

the components of the nervous system and the nonneural apparatus of the eye that contribute to the perception of visual stimulation. The anterior structures of the eye, such as the cornea and lens, focus light on the retina, which transduces photons into neural signals. These are transmitted via the optic nerve and optic tract to nuclei in the thalamus and brainstem. These in turn transmit the signals either to the visual areas of the cerebral cortex for hierarchical processing and conscious analysis or directly to motor centers in the brainstem and spinal cord to produce eye movements.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

July 27th 2024

script

1. a cognitive schematic structure—a mental road map—containing the basic actions (and their temporal and causal relations) that comprise a complex action. Also called script schema.

2. a structured representation consisting of a sequence of conceptual dependencies grouped together to capture the semantic relationships implicit in everyday human situations. It was designed for the purpose of computer-based story understanding. [created in 1966 by U.S. cognitive and computer scientist Roger C. Schank (1946– ) and U.S. psychologist Robert P. Abelson (1928–2005)]

3. see prescription drug.

4. see script analysis.