WINGS 1

VISUAL SYSTEM

Light: Hue, Brightness and Saturation

• Hue is determined by the dominant wavelength of the visible spectrum.
• Brightness refers to intensity, distinguished by the amount of shading
mixed with the hue.
• Saturation pertains the amount of white light mixed with a hue.

The Visual System

• The eye is a very complex, delicate, and vital structure, that is responsible for
an organism’s interaction with the external world. It is the most important and
influential sense organ.
• It receives information from the outside world in the form of light, and sends
loads of information to the brain all the time
• The human eye is a little less than one inch in diameter and almost spherical
• The eye has a very specific design or form, which captures and processes light
coming from outside light reflected by the stimuli
• Eyes function like a camera, which has its aperture, and a lens through which
the light enters, and cells present in it process the received light just as do the
intricate internal parts of the camera.

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Anatomy/ Structure of the Eye

The anatomy of the eye is broadly divided into three parts along with its
chambers
I. The external structure of the eye
II. The immediate structure of the eye
III. The internal structure of the eye

The External Structure

1. Cornea
• A transparent external surface
• Five-layered membrane that covers both the pupil and the iris.
• It is the first and most powerful lens or layer of the visual apparatus that
helps to form the sharp image on the retinal Photoreceptor cells, along
with the crystalline lens.

2. Sclera
• Outer walls of the eye are formed by a hard, white substance called
‘sclera', hence sclerotic coat that covers 5/6th of the surface of the eye
• The outside of the eye is light-tight and its mechanism is designed in such
a manner that only small amount of light can enter a small opening .That
enables the production of a clearer vision, because a smaller opening also
acting as the ‘aperture’, creates a sharper image.

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The Intermediate Part

1. Pupil
• A dark, adjustable opening in the center of the eye through which the light
enters. It changes its size as the amount of light entering the eye varies
• It looks dark and black in appearance, because of the absorbing pigments in the
retina

2. Iris
• Around the pupil of the eye, there is a ring of muscle tissue that controls the
size of the pupil opening, through its contraction and expansion
• It contains the color pigments and thus gives colour to the eye__ the colour
which the eyes possess such as brown, black, green, blue etc. are due to the iris
muscles.

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3. Lens
• The transparent part of the eye that is located behind the pupil that
changes it shape to focus images on the retina
• The lens changes its own thickness to focus image Properly on retina
this ability of the lens is called “accommodation”
• The process of accommodation depends largely on the location of the
object with respect to the observer’s body distant objects require a
relatively flat lens and the muscles that are controlling it are relaxing as
compared to when focusing the nearer objects, when muscles contract,
taking tensions off the lens thus making the lens rounder shaped.

4. Choroid
• It is the middle layer of the eye, and the lining of the 3/5th of the eyeball
• The choroid serves two important functions, i.e., nourishment and
absorption
• The choroid carries blood to the retina and the humors to provide
nourishment to the eye
• The other important function is that choroid absorbs any light that strikes
on it__ this is extremely important, because light that passes through the
rods and cones does not reflect.
But, in any case, if it (light) reflects, the photo-sensitive cells would
receive the light message twice, and would percept wrong, that there was
twice as much light as there really was.

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5. Fluids in the Chambers of the Eye

Eye has three important layers or chambers:
i. Anterior layer that lies between the cornea and iris
ii. Posterior layer that lies between iris and lens
iii. Vitreous layer that lies between the lens and the retina.

• Anterior and posterior chambers are filled with aqueous humor Whereas
the vitreous chamber is filled with a more viscous fluid, the vitreous
humor The eye is filled with these two liquids that are important because
they help maintain the shape of the eye and provide nourishment to the
cells present in the eye.

• The function of these fluids is the same as that of blood in other parts of
the body; the difference being that these liquids are nearly transparent, so
that they can nourish the cells of the eye without interfering with the light
that enters in the eye.

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6. Retina
• Retina is the light- sensitive inner surface or chamber of the eye that converts
the electromagnetic energy of the light into useful information for the brain.
• It contains about 130 million nerve cells.
• It contains the receptors rods and cones plus the neurons; these cells are very
important as they initiate the processing of visual information.
• The retina has an area of 5 square centimeters located at the back of the eye,
which is a location where all light detection takes place.
• The retina is a network of nerve cells connected with over 100 million
photosensitive rod and cones.
• The signals generated by these rods and cones are then sent, via the optic nerve,
to the visual areas in the brain.

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Internal Structure of the Eye

Rods
• Retinal receptors which are long, cylindrical, and light sensitive; that can only
detect black, white and gray; (black & white)
There are 120 million rod Cells
• Rods are used for ‘peripheral vision’, i.e., the objects that are outside the main
center of focus, and for night vision
Pigment : Rhodopsin
Protein : Scotopsin

Cones
• Retinal receptors, cone- shaped and colour sensitive, concentrated near the
center of the retina that is concerned with sharp focusing, fine details and colour
sensation; they work well in well- lit conditions i.e., bright or sufficient light
• there are 6 million cone cells
• Detects colour (RGB)
• Detect movements and patterns

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• Pigment – Porphyropsin (RED), Iodopsin ( green), Cyanopsin (blue)

• Protein: Photopsin

Important Regions of Retina

1. Fovea
• The very sensitive and important part of the retina that aids in focusing; it is the
area of best vision.
• The largest concentration of cones is present in fovea
• There are no rods present in fovea
2.Blind Spot
• The area/ point where the optic nerve leaves the eye; no receptor cells are
located here, thus creating a “blind” spot area of no vision

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Optic nerve
• Optic nerve contains bundled ganglion axons; located at the back of the eye,
optic nerve carries information to the brain.
•When optic nerve leaves the eyeball, it does not take the direct route to the brain,
instead, the optic nerves of both eyes meet, or intersect, at a point called “optic
chiasm”__ point where the optic nerves are reversed and ‘ righted’ in the brain
When the optic nerves split at this point, the nerve impulses from the right half
of each retina go to the right side of the brain and those from the left half to the
left side of the brain .

Neural Circuitry of the Retina

The different neuronal cell types are as follows:
1. The photoreceptors themselves—the rods and cones—which transmit signals
to the outer plexiform layer, where they synapse with bipolar cells and horizontal
cells
2. The horizontal cells, which transmit signals horizontally in the outer plexiform
layer from the rods and cones to bipolar cells
3. The bipolar cells, which transmit signals vertically from the rods, cones, and
horizontal cells to the inner plexiform layer, where they synapse with ganglion
cells and amacrine cells.

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4. The amacrine cells, which transmit signals in two directions, either directly
from bipolar cells to ganglion cells or horizontally within the inner plexiform
layer from axons of the bipolar cells to dendrites of the ganglion cells or to other
amacrine cells
5. The ganglion cells, which transmit output signals from the retina through the
optic nerve into the brain.
6. the interplexiform cell. A sixth type of neuronal cell in the retina, not very
prominent . This cell transmits signals in the retrograde direction from the inner
plexiform layer to the outer plexiform layer. Their role may be to help control
the degree of contrastin the visual image.

Retinal ganglion cells

• The photoreceptors activate bipolar cells, which then activate retinal
ganglion cells.
• The retinal ganglion cells give rise to the nerve fibers that leave the retina
via the optic nerve.
• There are two types of ganglion cell. P ganglion cells seem to respond to
color and are used for the recognition of fine detail, whereas M cells are
better at responding to large objects or to movement.
• The receptive fields of these cells also differ.

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The role of the retinal ganglion cells

• The retinal ganglion cells are the first place in which the visual stimulus
is analyzed or -ganglion cells are the first neurons in the retina that
respond with action potentials.
• Assume we have an electrode either in the ganglion cell layer of the retina
or in the optic nerve.
• The response of the ganglion cell will depend upon the responses of the
cells that feed into the ganglion cell, including the photoreceptors, the
bipolar cells and the various lateral interconnections via horizontal cells
and amacrine cells.
• The area in space that a cell responds to is called its receptive field.

For retinal ganglion cells, the fields look like

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More recently, three types of on-center and off-center fields have been
discovered.
• These have been labeled X cells, Y cells and W cells.
• X cells seem to respond to stationary points of light and can distinguish
fine grain detail.
• Y cells, on the other hand, respond best to changes in illumination or
moving stimuli.
• W cells have more complicated receptive fields than simple on-center or
off-center fields. Their field centers respond to either light or dark rather
than to just one or the other.

Visual Pathway

The visual pathway describes the anatomical pathway by which electrical signals
generated by the retina are sent to the brain The nerve fibers of the retina,
representing the axons of the ganglion cells, collect together at the optic disk
before passing out of the eye through the orbital bones and into the brain via the
optic nerve (the second cranial nerve). The nerve fibers from different areas of
the retina become more organized as they pass down the optic nerve. The optic
nerves from each eye meet at the optic chiasm, a structure at the base of the brain.
At this point, the nerve fibers, which are associated with the nasal half of the
retina from each eye cross over, so that on leaving the optic chiasm and passing
into the optic tracts, the nerve fibers from the nasal retina of one eye travel down
the optic tract with the nerve fibers originating in the temporal retina of the other
eye. At the end of each optic tract, the retinal nerve fibers connect with other
visual pathway nerves in a structure called the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
located in the midbrain. Some processing of the electrical signals occurs in
the LGN before a series of radiating nerve fibers, the optic radiation, convey the
information to the visual cortex in the posterior portion of the occipital lobe.
Perception of sight ultimately derives from processing within this and adjacent
areas of brain.

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Adaptation
• The process of the eye becoming used to a certain amount of light is called
adaptation.
• Dark Adaptation means a heightened sensitivity to light resulting from being
in low level of light for some duration (bright light – dim light) due to belching
of rhodopsin in bright light and it took some time to regenerate.
Red googles
• On the contrary, you can see quite well in light after coming from the darkness
light adaptation (dim light – bright light)
• The speed of processing from dark to light and light to dark adaptation is largely
dependent on the rate at which the chemical composition in the rods and cones
takes place.

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• The light-sensitive chemical in the rods is called rhodopsin

• the light sensitive chemicals in the cones, called cone pigments or color
pigments

Theories of colour vision

Trichromatic Theory of Color Vision
• Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz
• The Trichromatic Theory is the idea that there are three receptors in the
retina of the eye that are each sensitive to their own specific color.
• These three colors are red, green, and blue.
• Each of these color-sensitive cone cells has different sensitivities, with
blue cones being the most sensitive and red cones being the least.
• The combination of these three colors can form any visible color in the
color spectrum.
COLOR BLINDNESS
• “Color blindness” is caused by defective cones in the retina of the eye
• monochrome color blindness, people either have no cones or have cones
that are not working at all. Essentially, if they have cones, they only have
one type and, therefore, everything looks the same to the brain—shades
of gray.
• The other types of color-deficient vision, or dichromatic vision, are
caused by the same kind of problem—having one cone that does not work
properly.
• Protanopia (red-green color deficiency) is due to the lack of functioning
red cones
• deuteranopia (another type of red-green color deficiency) results from the
lack of functioning green cones.
• In both of these, the individual confuses reds and greens, seeing the world
primarily in blues, yellows, and shades of gray.
• A lack of functioning blue cones is much less common and called
tritanopia (blue-yellow color deficiency). These individuals see the world
primarily in reds, greens, and shades of Gray.

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Opponent process theory

• German physiologist Ewald Herring
• The opponent process theory proposes that one member of the color pair
suppresses the other color.
• For example, we do see yellowish-greens and reddish yellows, but we
never see reddish-green or yellowish-blue color hues.
• The opponent process theory suggests that the way humans perceive
colors is controlled by three opposing systems. We need four unique
colors to characterize perception of color: blue, yellow, red, and green.
According to this theory, there are three opposing channels in our vision.
They are:
• blue versus yellow
• red versus green
• black versus white

After Image
After image is the phenomenon in which retention of image occurs even after
cessation of the light stimulus. After looking at a bright object. if the eyes are
closed, them fades away gradually.

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Afterimage is of two types.

Negative afterimage: an afterimage that persists while turning toward a bright
background. After looking at bright object, if the eyes are fixed on white surface
(instead of closing or fixing on a black surface), the afterimage appears in
complementary color.
Positive Afterimage: an afterimage persisting after closure of eyes or turning
towards a dark background.

Defects of The Eye and Their Corrections

As perfect the human eye may seem; it’s not. And if the human eye isn’t perfect,
which means it has its share of defects of the human eye. Here are few common
defects of the human eye:

a. Myopia or Near-Sightedness
Myopia is a defect of vision wherein far-off objects appear blurred and objects
near are seen clearly. Since the eyeball is too long or the eye lens’s refractive
power is too high; the image forms in front of the retina rather than forming on
it. Correction of myopia can happen by wearing glasses/contacts made of concave
lenses to help focus the image on the retina.

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b. Hypermetropia or Longsightedness
Hypermetropia is a defect of vision wherein there is difficulty in viewing objects
that are near but one can view far objects easily. Since the eyeball is too short or
eye lens’s refractive power is too weak hence the image instead is of being
forming upon the retina, its forms behind the retina. Correction of
hypermetropia can happen by wearing glasses/contacts containing convex lenses.

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Source: Optometriceyesitenc.com

c. Cataract
Cataract is the clouding of the lens, that prevents the formation of a clear, sharp
image. A cataract forms when old cells after they die, stick in a capsule wherein
with time a clouding over lens happens. Because of this clouding blurred images
are formed. Correction of cataract can happen through a surgery. An artificial lens
in place of the opaque lens is after removing it via surgery.

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d. Presbyopia or Old-age Longsightedness

Presbyopia is a natural defect that occurs with the age. In presbyopia, the ciliary
muscles become weak and are no longer able to adjust the eye lens. The eye
muscles become so weak that no longer can a person see nearby objects clearly.
The near point of a person with presbyopia is more than 25cm. Correction of
presbyopia can happen by wearing bifocal glasses or Progressive Addition Lenses
(PALs) wherein the upper portion of the lens contains concave lens and lower
portion contains a convex lens.
A person with presbyopia can also have just myopia or just hypermetropia.

e. Astigmatism
Astigmatism is a defect wherein the light rays entering the eye do not focus light
evenly to a single focal point on the retina but instead scatter away. The light rays
in a way where some focus on the retina and some focus in front of or behind it.
This happens because of non-uniform curvature of the cornea; resulting in a
distorted or blurry vision at any distance. Correction of astigmatism can happen
by using a special spherical cylindrical lens.

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Power of Accommodation

Power of accommodation is the process by which ciliary muscles function, to

adjust the focal length of the eyes so that clear image forms on the retina. This
varies far or nearby objects. For a normal eyesight, the power of accommodation
is 4 dioptre.

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