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PROCESSES IN BIOLOGICAL VISION

by JAMES T. FULTON

“At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future tradition has placed
10,000 men to guard the past”             Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949)


This site presents the new, and COMPREHENSIVE

ELECTROLYTIC THEORY OF THE VISUAL PROCESS

in two forms, the complete text and a series of individual guides.   The GUIDES are accessible to the left. The text is availabe in Download Chapters on the left. A condensed Tutorial is now available in book form at upper right.

Last update: 1 May 2018             Activa™: See Citation Page

In support of the above,

The theory shows that the
ARCHITECTURE OF ALL VISION IS TETRACHROMATIC.
Although traditionally called trichromats, it is shown that
HUMANS ARE BLOCKED TETRACHROMATS
For a quick proof of this fact, click here

The THEORY extends the previous single thread Zone Theory into a
MULTI-THREAD and MULTI-STAGE ZONE THEORY

The ELECTROLYTIC THEORY presents the first description of the
ACTIVA, the ACTIVE SEMICONDUCTOR KERNAL of EVERY NEURON

The THEORY presents the first
COMPLETE CIRCUIT DIAGRAM from RETINA TO CORTEX.

Many of the most subtle mechanisms associated with the visual modality developed within the context of this theory have been confirmed during 2016.

Sabesam et al., working at the University of California, Berkeley in 2016, assembled a very sophisticated optical coherent tomography (OCT) test set augmented with adaptive (active) optics and tremor cancelling features. This test set allowed them to stimulate individual sensory neuron (color) photoreceptors of the human retina in-vivo. With this capability, they were able to demonstrate that the M – and L–channel (cone) photoreceptors mediated the intensity signaling R–channel (the archaic rod photoreceptors) of the visual modality (as well as mediated their individual M – and L–signaling channels. They accomplished this psychophysical experiment by stimulating individual photoreceptors and interrogating the fully aware subject as to their perceived response (Section 3.2.3.6).

MAJOR CONCEPTUAL CHANGES

The theory is far more complete and mathematically rigorous than any other presented to date. It introduces three major paradigm shifts affecting concepts held true for the last 50 years, a super extended period considering the rate of changes in other scientific technologies.

  1. It redefines the photosensing event in biological vision, replacing the conceptual rhodopsin with the precisely defined Rhodonine as the chromophore of vision.
  2. It shows that the neural system is based on electrolytics instead of chemistry for its operation.
  3. It shows that the eye is predominantly a change detecting device that is only converted into an imager in the higher chordates. This conversion requires the participation of the Precision (previously auxiliary)Optical System, POS, in the operation of the visual system.

It also redefines how the organism perceives color from a functional perspective. Although these PARADIGM SHIFTS are completely supported by the data in the literature, they are so significant that many of the hypotheses found in journal material require reinterpretation. Much of the theory presented in current textbooks also requires review. These four paradigm shifts lead to a larger set of FUNDAMENTAL PREMISES that form the foundation of this work.

Many phenomena previously uncharacterized become quantifiable and a large group of new performance descriptors become available. The descriptors are able to describe the vision process to a totally new degree of accuracy and precision.

The availability of more detailed performance descriptors calls into question many of the evaluation techniques used previously. This availability allows many previous visual theories to be improved significantly. It also shows that the popular term "cone fundamentals" is a misnomer.

The paradigm shift related to the neural system is so significant that it warrants a separate NEURON HOME PAGE . It also leads to an entirely new description of both the cytology and function of the photoreceptor cell and also a broader understanding of how the brain operates.

With a broader understanding of how the complete visual system works, new insights into how it recognizes and interprets symbols (reads) becomes available. This material is also summarized within a separate READING HOME PAGE

Because many of the dynamic properties of the visual system are not easily situated within this main site, the neuron site or the reading site, a special DYNAMICS HOME PAGE has been initiated that focuses on this aspect of Vision. The initial content of this site concerns the mechanisms used by the visual system to perceive, interpret and recognize individual objects in a scene.

A CAUTION

Because of the revolutionary nature of some of the material presented, students subject to examination by their institution are encouraged to review the Cautions Page before proceeding.


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Copyright 2011 Neural Concepts