Biological Influences On Visual Perception

Summary

The video discusses how people perceive colors differently due to biological, psychological, and social factors. Using examples like the viral debates over 'the dress' and the 'gray or pink shoe,' it explains how our visual perception is influenced by various conditions like presbyopia, cataracts, glaucoma, and color vision deficiency. The video emphasizes the complexity of the visual system, the impact of genetic and congenital visual disorders, and highlights the importance of being grateful for healthy vision.

Takeaways

• 👀 Visual perception varies significantly between people due to biological, psychological, and social influences.
• 👟 People saw a shoe as either gray and teal or pink and white, and a dress as either black and blue or white and gold, showing how perception differs.
• 🧠 Biological factors like the structure and condition of the visual system play a major role in how people see.
• 👴 As people age, conditions like presbyopia, cataracts, and floaters can affect vision.
• 🧬 Genetic factors contribute to many vision issues, such as myopia, hyperopia, strabismus, and amblyopia.
• 🎨 Color vision deficiency, often referred to as color blindness, is a genetically inherited disorder that affects how people perceive colors.
• 👓 Achromatopsia is a condition where a person lacks the ability to see colors at all, often due to damage to the visual system.
• 🌒 Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disorder where protein growth causes rods and cones in the retina to die, leading to night blindness and loss of peripheral vision.
• 🔍 The Ishihara test is commonly used to detect color vision deficiencies.
• 🙏 Despite various visual disorders, many people can still appreciate the complex and incredible sense of sight.

Q & A

What are the three main categories of factors that affect how we perceive vision?

The three main categories of factors that affect how we perceive vision are biological influences, psychological influences, and social influences.

What is chromatopsia and how does it differ from colorblindness?

Chromatopsia is a condition where one might have partial or total absence of color vision, which is different from colorblindness where people have difficulty distinguishing between colors.

How does the eye's complexity contribute to potential vision problems?

The eye's complexity means that any part of it can be affected, thus impacting vision. Conditions such as presbyopia, floaters, cataracts, AMD, and glaucoma can all affect different parts of the eye.

What is presbyopia and why does it become common in old age?

Presbyopia is a condition where the lens of the eye loses elasticity and can't bend light as effectively, causing difficulty in focusing on near objects. It becomes common in old age due to the natural aging process of the eye.

What is floaters and how does it affect vision?

Floaters are clumps of matter that appear as specks or spots in vision, caused by the deterioration of the vitreous humor in the eye. They affect vision by creating the appearance of moving spots or floaters in the field of vision.

Can you explain cataracts and how they impact vision?

Cataracts are a condition where proteins in the lens break down, causing a cloudy spot in the lens and leading to blurred vision. They are common with aging, and can also be influenced by factors like smoking and poor diet.

What is AMD and how does it affect vision?

AMD, or age-related macular degeneration, is a condition where grainy deposits form in the center of the retina, causing deterioration of central vision. People with AMD have a blurry spot in the middle of their vision, and it's one of the leading causes of vision loss.

What is glaucoma and why is it significant?

Glaucoma is a condition that affects the optic nerve's ability to transmit visual information to the brain. It can lead to blindness if not addressed, and it's significant because it affects a large number of elderly people, including over 150,000 in Australia.

How do genetic factors influence inherited visual disorders?

Genetic factors can lead to inherited visual disorders such as myopia, hyperopia, strabismus, amblyopia, glaucoma, and AMD. These conditions are passed down due to genetic factors.

What is color vision deficiency and why is it more common in men?

Color vision deficiency is a genetically inherited disorder that affects how people perceive color. It is more common in men because it is caused by a mutation of a gene located on the X chromosome, and males have only one X chromosome, unlike females who have two.

What is the Ishihara test and how is it used?

The Ishihara test is a famous type of color blindness test that uses a series of plates with colored dots to detect color vision deficiencies. People with normal color vision can discern numbers within the plates, while those with deficiencies may not see them or see them incorrectly.

What is retinitis pigmentosa and how does it affect vision?

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic visual disorder that affects the retina, causing the rods and eventually cones to die, leading to night blindness and loss of peripheral vision.

Outlines

00:00

👀 Perception and Biological Influences on Vision

The paragraph discusses how the perception of color can vary greatly among individuals due to biological, psychological, and social factors. It introduces the concept of color vision deficiency, which is different from colorblindness, and can occur due to trauma or genetic factors. The script then delves into the complexity of the eye and how age-related conditions such as presbyopia, floaters, cataracts, AMD, and glaucoma can affect vision. It also touches on the genetic predisposition to visual disorders and the difference between inherited and congenital conditions. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on color vision deficiency, explaining how it affects the perception of color and the genetic basis for this condition.

05:01

🌈 Genetic Visual Disorders and Appreciating Vision

This paragraph continues the discussion on genetic visual disorders, focusing on the severity of color vision deficiencies ranging from trichromacy to monochromacy. It uses the Ishihara test as an example to illustrate how color blindness can be detected. The paragraph also introduces retinitis pigmentosa, a condition affecting the retina that leads to night blindness and peripheral vision loss. The speaker encourages gratitude for good vision, emphasizing the importance of this sense and the need to appreciate it.

Keywords

💡Biological influences

Biological influences refer to how physical and genetic factors affect vision. In the video, this includes conditions such as achromatopsia and presbyopia, which are examples of how age, genetics, or injury can impair one's ability to see clearly. This is part of the broader discussion on why people might perceive visual stimuli differently.

💡Achromatopsia

Achromatopsia is a condition where a person has partial or total absence of color vision. Unlike color blindness, it results from trauma to the brain's cortex or neural pathways. The video mentions this to show how the visual system's physiological damage can change how individuals see color.

💡Color vision deficiency

Color vision deficiency, commonly referred to as color blindness, affects how people perceive color due to genetic mutations. The video discusses how men are more likely to have this condition due to its link to the X chromosome. It exemplifies the biological factors that influence how individuals see and interpret colors.

💡Presbyopia

Presbyopia is a condition where the eye's lens loses elasticity, making it difficult to focus on nearby objects. It occurs naturally with aging and is often corrected with reading glasses or contact lenses. This example is used in the video to explain how aging affects vision.

💡Cataracts

Cataracts are clouded spots on the lens of the eye that develop as proteins in the lens break down, often due to aging. The video uses cataracts to illustrate a common cause of blurred vision, highlighting how the biological makeup of the eye deteriorates over time.

💡Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

AMD is a condition where deposits in the retina lead to the deterioration of central vision. It is one of the leading causes of vision loss, especially among the elderly. The video uses this to show how aging can biologically influence vision in severe ways, often without a cure.

💡Genetic visual disorders

Genetic visual disorders are inherited conditions such as myopia, hyperopia, and glaucoma. The video explains how some visual impairments are passed down through generations, emphasizing the role of genetic factors in shaping visual perception.

💡Retinitis pigmentosa

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disorder affecting the retina, leading to the degeneration of rods and cones. This causes night blindness and peripheral vision loss. The video highlights this as an example of how genetic factors influence vision over time.

💡Optic nerve

The optic nerve is responsible for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain. In the video, damage to the optic nerve is linked to conditions like glaucoma, which can result in blindness. This underscores the importance of the biological structures in maintaining vision.

💡Ishihara test

The Ishihara test is a famous test for detecting color vision deficiency, involving a series of images with numbers embedded in colored dots. The video uses this test to discuss how people with color vision deficiency might see the world differently, serving as a practical example of how vision can be affected biologically.

Highlights

The viral debate over the color of the shoe (gray and teal vs. pink and white) and the dress (black and blue vs. gold and white) illustrates how people can perceive the same object differently.

Vision is influenced by three main categories: biological, psychological, and social factors.

A condition called achromatopsia can cause partial or total absence of color vision, distinct from colorblindness, which involves difficulty distinguishing colors.

Presbyopia, common in the elderly, is caused by the lens losing elasticity, making it difficult to focus on near objects. It's easily treated with glasses.

Floaters occur when the vitreous humor in the eye starts to crystallize, creating specks or spots in the field of vision, a common condition in old age.

Cataracts develop due to protein breakdown in the lens, resulting in cloudy or blurred vision. This often occurs with aging but can be influenced by smoking and poor diet.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes blurry spots in the central field of vision due to deposits in the retina. It is a leading cause of vision loss without a known cure.

Glaucoma, affecting the optic nerve, can lead to blindness. It's often undiagnosed in elderly people, particularly in Australia where more than 150,000 elderly individuals are believed to have it.

Myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), strabismus (cross-eye), and amblyopia (lazy eye) are examples of genetic visual disorders passed down through inherited genes.

Congenital visual disorders like cataracts, glaucoma, and achromatopsia can be present at birth, with color vision deficiency being a common inherited condition.

Color vision deficiency, often called colorblindness, occurs when one or more of the cones responsible for detecting red, green, or blue light are affected, impacting color perception.

Trichromacy, dichromacy, and monochromacy describe different levels of color vision impairment, with monochromacy being the most severe, where no color is perceived.

The Ishihara test is a widely used method to diagnose color vision deficiency, featuring colored dots that form numbers visible to those without color blindness.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disorder affecting the retina, leading to the deterioration of rods and cones, causing night blindness and eventual loss of peripheral vision.

Vision is an incredible sense, and those with functioning eyes should be grateful, as highlighted by the instructor at the conclusion of the lecture.

Transcripts

so a few years ago now there were a

couple of pictures that went around the

interwebs that got a lot of people

talking and of course I'm referring to

these two the question was very simple

what color are these items personally I

see the shoe as gray and teal and the

dress as black and blue but other people

swore that they saw a pink and a white

shoe I don't even know which bit they

were referring to and a gold and white

dress was seeing the same thing but

we're not actually seeing the same thing

I mean this whole thing is even assuming

that you can see the full range of

colors in the first place or that you

don't have vision impairment or that

you're from a culture where you even

recognize that this is a shoe and that

this is a dress we're all looking at the

same objects but how we interpret it

depends on so many things three main

categories of factors that affect how we

perceive vision are biological

influences psychological influences and

social influences we're gonna spend a

lesson on each of these things starting

with biological influences let's have a

look at how physiological makeup effects

fission

well since the thing that helps us see

is our visual system if any part of it

is damaged or deteriorates vision will

be compromised one example is a chroma

top sia a condition in which you might

have partial or a total absence of color

vision now this is different from

colorblindness which is where people

have difficulty distinguishing between

color but more on that soon a chroma top

Syria can occur because of trauma to

specific areas of the cortex or to the

neural pathways between the eye and the

brain speaking of the eye let's have a

quick look at it again even if just to

remind ourselves of how complex this

organ is pretty much any part of the eye

can be affected thus affecting vision as

well as well soon see one common example

of effective vision is with the elderly

many of you will know all the folk who

need reading glasses or who might

perhaps have had surgery for cataracts

with all age comes wisdom but

unfortunately a lot of other conditions

as well one reason why reading glasses

become so common in old age is because

of a condition called presbyopia which

is what happens when the lens starts to

lose elasticity and isn't able to bend

light as effectively anymore resulting

in the person having difficulty focusing

on near objects although this condition

is irreversible it's easily treated with

glasses or contact lenses having

floaters is another condition that

comes with old age which is winning a

clumps of matter that sort of a PS like

little specks or spots in your vision

and this happens when the vitreous humor

that's central sort of liquidy part of

the eye deteriorates starts to

crystallize cataracts is something else

that you may have heard of before this

is when you literally see like this

cloudy spot in the lens

this happens when proteins break down in

the lens and it causes vision to become

blurred and actually occurs with aging

although I'm pretty sure that's smoking

and having a poor diet are also factors

AMD or age-related macular degeneration

it's another condition in which you get

grainy deposits in the center of the

retina which causes a deterioration of

central vision

so people with AMD sort of have this

like blurry spot right in the middle of

their vision this is one of the leading

causes of vision loss in the world and

unfortunately at the moment has no known

cure and the last example is a condition

that actually affects the ability of the

optic nerve to transmit visual

information to the brain

it's called Gao coma and in Australia

more than 150,000 elderly people I

believe to have it often people don't

think too much of this which means it

doesn't get addressed and unfortunately

can lead to blindness all right the next

biological factor is a genetic so

obviously this is gonna include

inherited visual disorders which means

Commission's to get they get passed down

because of genetic factors it's a whole

bunch of examples here including myopia

or shortsightedness hyperopia or

farsightedness strabismus or cross eye

and amblyopia or lazy eye glaucoma and

AMD can also be partly genetic if you're

interested in how these conditions

affect the eye here's a little summary

but for our senior psychology syllabus

we don't exactly need to know how this

works now as well as inherited visual

disorders you can also have congenital

visual disorders that is something

that's present at birth so a few of the

things mentioned before a cataracts

glaucoma achromatopsia these can be

congenital as well including one of the

most possibly famous visual conditions

of all which is what happens when you

see this top image like that this

condition is known as color vision

deficiency which is a genetically

inherited disorder that affects how

people perceive color it's also known as

color blindness but that's not really

the correct term for it color vision

deficiency is much more common

men because this disorder is caused by a

mutation of a gene located on the X

chromosome because females have two X

chromosomes that's sort of a built-in

protective factor there whereas males

don't have that now this condition

occurs when one or more of the types of

cones in the retina are affected their

actually three types of cones that we

have in our eyes that sort of specialize

in detecting the three main colors of

light red green and blue and depending

on which type is effected that

determines what a color deficiency you

have and so if only one type of cone is

affected then we'll say that that person

has trichromacy that person would have

died chrome received who are affected

and if all three are affected this is

the most severe type then we would say

that's then we would say the person has

monochromacy then we would say that

person has monochromacy by the way if

you're wondering what's in this image

here it's actually nothing yeah just

that I put it there to scare you these

next four are not nothing however they

all contain a numbers which hopefully

most of you are able to see if you're

not it could be something in chat to a

doctor or optometrist about but over

here is the number six the number 12 in

this one twenty nine and seventy four

this is a very famous type of color

blindness test it's often called but

it's more accurately known as the

Ishihara test and the final example of a

genetic visual disorder is retinitis

pigmentosa as the name suggests this is

something that affects the retina and

occurs when protein growth causes rods

and eventually cones to start to die

this will obviously lead to a night

blindness because of the rods and

eventually loss of peripheral vision so

there was a summary of a whole bunch of

biological reasons why people might have

their vision affected but as I and I too

want to say that if your eyes are

working you know moderately well I think

we have so much to be thankful for

vision is such an incredible sense and I

know that I for one don't spend enough

time being thankful what I have

so yeah let's be thankful for our eyes

you