Recent findings suggest that visual signals are fed into at least

1993 02 SECTION B 21-27

Recent findings suggest that visual signals are fed into at least three separate processing systems in the brain, each with its own distinct function. One system appears to process information about shape perception; a second, information about color; a third, information about movement, location, and spatial organization. An understanding of the functions and capabilities of these three systems can shed light on how artists manipulate materials to create surprising visual effects.

It is possible to summarize the functions of the three subsystems of the visual system as follows. The parvo system carries highly detailed information about stationary objects and about borders that are formed by contrasting colors. It does not, however, carry information about specific colors. Because much of the information about the shape of objects can be represented by their borders, we suspect that this system is important in shape perception. The blob system processes information about colors, but not about movement, shape discrimination, or depth. The magno system carries information about movement and depth. It is good at detecting motion but poor at scrutinizing stationary images. In addition it appears to be colorblind; it is unable to perceive borders that are visible only on the basis of color contrast.

Cells in the parvo system can distinguish between two colors at any relative brightness of the two. Cells in the color-blind magno system, on the other hand, are analogous to a black-and-white photograph in the way they function: they signal information about the brightness of surfaces but not about their colors. For any pair of colors there is a particular brightness ratio at which two colors, for example red and green, will appear as the same shade of gray in a black-and-white photograph, hence any border between them will vanish. Similarly at some relative red-to-green brightness level, the red and green will appear identical to the magno system. The red and green are then called equiluminant. A border between two equiluminant colors has color contrast but no luminance contrast.

Many artists have seemed to be empirically aware of these underlying principles and have used them to maximize particular effects. Some of the peculiar effects of Op Art, for example, probably arise from color combinations that are strong activators of the parvo system but are weak stimuli for the magno system. An object that is equiluminant with its background looks vibrant and unstable. The reason is that the parvo system can signal the object’s shape but the magno system cannot see its borders and therefore cannot signal either the movement or the position of the object. Hence it seems to jump around, drift, or vibrate on the canvas.

1. ​​The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) describing subsystems of the visual system and showing their relevance to art
(B) comparing three theories on how the visual system analyzes images in a work of art
(C) explaining how artists use color contrasts to create particular visual effects
(D) explaining how the visual system distinguishes among different colors
(E) describing functions of the first three phases of the visual system


2. ​Which of the following would create visual effects most similar to those discussed in lines 43-48? (Last 4 lines of the passage)

(A) A watercolor in which colors are applied imprecisely to outlined shapes
(B) A painting in which different shades of the same color are used to obscure the boundaries between objects
(C) A black-and-white sketch in which shading is used to convey a sense of depth
(D) An advertisement in which key words are at the same level of brightness as a background of contrasting color
(E) A design in which two different shades of gray are juxtaposed to heighten the contrast between them


3. ​The passage provides information about which of the following?

(A) Why the same system can process information about movement and location
(B) Why the parvo system is considered to be responsible for shape perception
(C) Why the blob system can process information about colors but not movement
(D) The mechanism that enables the blob system to distinguish between stationary objects
(E) The mechanism that enables the magno system to carry information about shape discrimination


4. ​​​​​According to the passage, which of the following is true of the visual system?

(A) It processes visual signals in three consecutive stages.
(B) It processes visual signals through separate processing systems in the brain.
(C) It consists of only three separate systems.
(D) It consists of a single hierarchical system rather than a multipartite system.
(E) It consists of separate system with high overlap in processing functions.


5. ​​The author mentions a “black-and-white photograph” (Highlighted) most probably in order to explain

(A) how the parvo system distinguishes between different shapes and colors
(B) how the magno system uses luminosity to identify borders between objects
(C) the mechanism that makes the magno system color-blind
(D) why the magno system is capable of perceiving moving images
(E) the brightness ratio at which colors become indistinguishable to the parvo system


6. ​​The author uses all of the following in the discussion in the third paragraph EXCEPT:

(A) an example
(B) definition of terms
(C) contrast
(D) a rhetorical question
(E) analogy


7. ​​​The passage suggests which of the following about the magno system?

(A) It perceives borders on the basis of luminance contrast.
(B) It perceives shapes on the basis of color contrast.
(C) It is better at perceiving stationary objects than it is at detecting movement.
(D) It can detect motion but it cannot signal the position of an object.
(E) It is better at processing information about movement than it is at processing information about depth.