Visual Perception and Auditory Processing

This page explores the mechanisms of visual perception and auditory processing, including the opponent process theory in visual perception and the structure of the eye and ear.

The wavelength of light determines the color we perceive, while amplitude affects the intensity of the perceived color. The retina contains three types of color receptors, each sensitive to different wavelengths corresponding to red, green, and blue.

Highlight: The opponent process theory explains color perception through three opposing pairs: blue-yellow, red-green, and black-white.

The visual processing pathway involves multiple structures, including the cornea, pupil, iris, lens, retina, and various neural components before reaching the visual cortex.

Example: The place theory of hearing suggests that different frequencies cause larger vibrations at specific locations along the basilar membrane in the inner ear.

Memory Formation and Retrieval

The process of memory formation and retrieval involves multiple stages and cognitive mechanisms. This page explores the key concepts of memory, including recognition, recall, and the three-stage model of memory.

Stages of memory formation and retrieval include sensory memory, working/short-term memory, and long-term memory. The information-processing model involves three main processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Definition: Explicit memories are conscious memories of facts and experiences, while implicit memories involve skills and classically conditioned associations.

The brain processes different types of information automatically, including space, time, and frequency. Sensory memory feeds some information into working memory for active processing.

Vocabulary: Iconic memory is a brief sensory memory of visual stimuli, while echoic memory is a short sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

The brain's frontal lobes and hippocampus are involved in explicit memory formation, while the cerebellum and basal ganglia are crucial for implicit memory formation. Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a process where neurons become more efficient at transmitting signals.

Highlight: The serial position effect explains why we tend to recall the first and last items in a list better than those in the middle.