Receptive Fields and Spatial Vision

Start with receptive fields

Begin with the quiz on receptive field concepts. Its questions cover what a neuron's receptive field is, the size of retinal ganglion cell receptive fields and spatial configurations. This gives you a starting point for studying the terms used elsewhere on the page.

Next, look at the Receptive Fields and Neural Analysis flashcards. They cover receptive fields, sustained and transient responses, linear and non-linear responses, and simple and complex cells. Work through the cards alongside the quiz to practice recalling the terms and checking how they are used in questions.

Explore contrast and spatial vision

The Detecting Contrast & Differences mind map describes a receptive field in terms of the size, shape and location of earlier cells that converge on a later cell. Use it to follow that relationship visually, then return to the receptive field concepts quiz to check your understanding.

The Spatial Vision flashcards cover sine wave gratings, Fourier analysis, spatial frequency channels and contrast sensitivity. For another perspective, the flashcards on optic neural coding include questions about opponent-process coding and responses in the receptive field center. The spatial vision quiz asks about ocular dominance and orientation.

Connect the resources

Receptive Fields and Spatial Vision is a section of The Visual System unit in Neuroscience. The resources on this page let you move between definitions, visual summaries and questions within that section. The Visual System II and III quiz includes a definition of a sensory neuron's receptive field, while the Function quiz asks about the retina and receptive field patterns.

Try using a quiz to identify a term you want to review, then find it in a flashcard deck or mind map before returning to the questions. Choose a resource on the page to begin.