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In the cerebral cortex, sensory processing begins at the primary sensory cortex , then proceeds to an association area , and finally, into a multimodal integration area . For example, the visual pathway projects from the retinae through the thalamus to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe. This area is primarily in the medial wall within the longitudinal fissure. Here, visual stimuli begin to be recognized as basic shapes. Edges of objects are recognized and built into more complex shapes. Also, inputs from both eyes are compared to extract depth information. Because of the overlapping field of view between the two eyes, the brain can begin to estimate the distance of stimuli based on binocular depth cues .
Watch this video to learn more about how the brain perceives 3-D motion. Similar to how retinal disparity offers 3-D moviegoers a way to extract 3-D information from the two-dimensional visual field projected onto the retina, the brain can extract information about movement in space by comparing what the two eyes see. If movement of a visual stimulus is leftward in one eye and rightward in the opposite eye, the brain interprets this as movement toward (or away) from the face along the midline. If both eyes see an object moving in the same direction, but at different rates, what would that mean for spatial movement?
Two ways in which we can extract depth information from the two-dimensional retinal signal are based on monocular cues and binocular cues, respectively. Monocular depth cues are those that are the result of information within the two-dimensional visual field. One object that overlaps another object has to be in front. Relative size differences are also a cue. For example, if a basketball appears larger than the basket, then the basket must be further away. On the basis of experience, we can estimate how far away the basket is. Binocular depth cues compare information represented in the two retinae because they do not see the visual field exactly the same.
The centers of the two eyes are separated by a small distance, which is approximately 6 to 6.5 cm in most people. Because of this offset, visual stimuli do not fall on exactly the same spot on both retinae unless we are fixated directly on them and they fall on the fovea of each retina. All other objects in the visual field, either closer or farther away than the fixated object, will fall on different spots on the retina. When vision is fixed on an object in space, closer objects will fall on the lateral retina of each eye, and more distant objects will fall on the medial retina of either eye ( [link] ). This is easily observed by holding a finger up in front of your face as you look at a more distant object. You will see two images of your finger that represent the two disparate images that are falling on either retina.
These depth cues, both monocular and binocular, can be exploited to make the brain think there are three dimensions in two-dimensional information. This is the basis of 3-D movies. The projected image on the screen is two dimensional, but it has disparate information embedded in it. The 3-D glasses that are available at the theater filter the information so that only one eye sees one version of what is on the screen, and the other eye sees the other version. If you take the glasses off, the image on the screen will have varying amounts of blur because both eyes are seeing both layers of information, and the third dimension will not be evident. Some optical illusions can take advantage of depth cues as well, though those are more often using monocular cues to fool the brain into seeing different parts of the scene as being at different depths.
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