Visual Perception

PrefaceI. Introduction InformationII. The Experiment of Hecht, Schlaer, and Pirenne The General Design of the Experiment The State of the Subject — Dark Adaptation Location of the Test Flash in the Visual Field Size of the Test Flash — Spatial Summation Duration of the Test Flash — Temporal Summation Color of the Test Flash — The Spectral Sensitivity Curve The Experiment Itself The Interpretation of Results ProblemsIII. The Physics of Light A Definition of "Seeing" Light Sources Lenses and Refraction The Intensity of an Image Depth of Focus The Stimulus in the Hecht Experiment Collimated Light Sources of Imperfection of the Retinal Image Measurements of the Real Retinal Image ProblemsIV. Quantal Fluctuations Quantal Fluctuations in the Stimulus The Relationship between Quantal Fluctuation and the Subject's Variability Sources of Subject Variability Quantal Fluctuations at Suprathreshold Light Levels ProblemsV. The Action of Light on Rod Pigments Changes in Rhodopsin Molecules in the Light and in Darkness The Characteristics and Perceptual Correlates of State a The Characteristics and Perceptual Correlates of States b, c, and d ProblemVI. The Excitation of Rods The Fundamentals of Neural Activity The Excitation of Retinal Structures as a Consequence of the Absorption of Quanta Dark Adaptation and Rod Excitation The Early Stage of Dark AdaptationVII. Cones and Cone Pigment Histological Properties of Rods and Cones Psychophysical Distinctions between Rods and Cones Individual Differences The Nature of Cone Pigments The Kinetics of Cone Pigments ProblemVIII. Color Vision I - Discriminations among Wavelength Mixtures Color Names Monochromacy Dichromacy Trichromacy Color Blindness Wavelength Mixture Space Color Reproduction for the Dichromat The Color Mixture Space of the Trichromat A Cure for Color-Blindness ProblemsIX. Color Vision II - Retinal Color Systems Possible Trichromatic Mechanisms Measurements of the Mechanisms of Human Color Systems Microspectrophotometry of the Human Retina Classes of Cones in the Retina Tetrachromacy Evaluation of the Assumption That All Absorbed Quanta Produce Identical Effects The Stability of Wavelength Mixture Matches ProblemX. Color Vision III - The Perception of Color The Relationship between Perceived Color and the Physical Stimulus Differences between Hue, Saturation, and Brightness Factors other Than Wavelength That Influence Hue Stimulus Generalization The Physiological Correlates of Perceived Colors Logarithmic Transformations and Approximations to Them Application of a Nonlinear Transformation to the Perception of Hue Physiological Measures of Wavelength-Dependent ResponsesXI. The Psychophysiology of Brightness - I Spatial Interaction in the Visual System Demonstrations that Brightness Is Not a Simple Function of Intensity Evidence Concerning the Physiological Nature of Spatial Interaction in the Visual System Lateral Inhibition in the Retinas of MammalsXII. Psychophysiology of Brightness - II Modulation Transfer Functions Modulation Transfer Functions Conditions Necessary for Correct Use of the MTF Human Visual Modulation Transfer Functions Perceptual Phenomena Related to the Transfer Function Physiological Implications of the Modulation Transfer FunctionXIII. Brightness and Color Constancy Is All This Perception? A Physiological Explanation of Brightness Constancy The Limits of Brightness Constancy Hue Contrast and Hue ConstancyXIV. Temporal Properties of the Visual Systems Phase The Temporal Modulation Transfer Function Physiological Correlates of Temporal EventsXV. Stimulus Generalization The Generalization of Visual Shapes Physiological Evidence for Mammalian Generalization MechanismsXVI: Speculations on "Higher Processes" Why Did Inhibition Evolve? "Higher" ProcessesAppendix I Visual AngleAppendix II Filter Transmission Versus DensityAppendix III How to Build an Ophthalmoscope Theory of Operation Specific Construction DetailsAppendix IV Demonstration of Color Contrast (Colored Shadows)ReferencesSuggested General ReadingsAuthor IndexSubject Index