Which of the following experiments attempts to demonstrate the presence of feature detectors in the visual cortex of the human brain?

A) People are given rewards and punishments when detecting faint stimuli.
B) People stare at bars of one width for a minute and then check whether their perception of other bars has changed.
C) People sit in a dark room for various periods of time and then check their ability to detect a dim light.
D) People look at a piece of paper with two dots on it and move it back and forth trying to find their blind spot.

Question

William Bronzi · Accepted Answer

Final Answer : B, Explanation :  The experiment described in option B is known as the visual adaptation experiment and attempts to demonstrate the presence of feature detectors in the visual cortex of the human brain. The experiment involves staring at bars of one width for a minute or more and then checking whether their perception of other bars has changed. This change in perception suggests that the neurons that respond to the specific width of bars have become fatigued and reduce their activity, which increases the response of neurons that respond to other widths of bars. This suggests that the neurons in the visual cortex are specialized to respond to specific features of visual stimuli, known as feature detectors. The other options describe experiments that do not directly relate to the concept of feature detectors.

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