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Brag: Our \"how\" (aka dorsal) visual pathway!
This is definitely a brag for all of humanity.
Basically what the "how" visual pathway does is that it uses visual information to guide motor movements. When your eyes send info to corital area VI (aka the primary visual cortex), it then splits into two pathways: 1. The "what" visual pathway - located in the underside of the temporal lobes 2. The "how" visual pathway - located in the parietal lobe and motor areas The "what" visual pathway is used for object recognition and identification; whereas the "how" visual pathway, as mentioned above is involved with visually guided movements. These two pathways are independent of each other. What this means is that if you blow out your "what" visual pathway, your "how" visual pathway still works fine! One famous study involving "Patient" DF was given two conditions. In condition 1, she was presented with a card, and a mail slot. She was asked to orient the card so that it would fit the mail slot. The mail slot was changed each trial. What this tested was her ability to perceive/orient objects. Since patient DF suffered from associated agnosia - a condition characterized by the inability to identify objects/forms, she could not orient the card to fit the mail slot. Here's the interesting part: she was given a 2nd condition. She was asked simply to just drop the card in the slot without thinking. It was without surprise that she did this with no problems even though she couldn't identify what was going on. What does this mean? Well basically it shows that the two pathways are separate! In the first condition, she was unable orient the card because her "what" visual pathway was damaged; so in essence, she had no overt awareness of her visual field. However, in the second condition, even though she couldn't discern what was going on, her "how" visual pathway still worked fine showing that she had covert awarness! This is a huge brag for everyday life! Everytime you reaction to say a dropping object, or any objects without your conscious awareness, you can thank your "how" visual system! Brag for our great bodies! |
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