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Chapter twelve: Visual and hydrodynamic flow perception
Glossary
Absolute threshold: The smallest amount of stimulus energy to produce a sensation.
Active touch: Active tactile exploration of objects. Tactile perception is mediated by pressure, skin stretch, vibration, and temperature sensors.
Benthic prey: Prey that lives close to, on, or in the seabed.
Bioluminescence: Some organisms are able to produce and emit light either themselves
or with the help of bioluminescent bacteria.
Breathing current: A breathing current is generated by water being expelled from the gill
opening of a fish.
Burst-and-glide swimming: A type of swimming in which undulatory bursts are alternating with periods in which the body is held straight and the organism is gliding
forward.
Ciliary body: The ciliary muscle and epithelium are called the ciliary body. The ciliary
muscle is connected via the zonular fibers to the lens and mediates accommodation. The ciliary body is furthermore involved in the production and resorption of
the aqueous humor.
Classical conditioning: As a result of classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., light) elicits the response (salivation) associated with an unconditioned
stimulus (food). This is achieved by repeatedly pairing the neutral stimulus with
the unconditioned stimulus.
Coherent motion: When objects move coherently, they move into the same direction.
Coherence can vary between 100% meaning that all objects in a display move into
the same direction or 0% meaning that all objects move randomly.
Dark adaptation: Dark adaptation is the ability of the eye to adjust its sensitivity to dim
light conditions.
Difference threshold: The amount of change in a stimulus required to produce a just
noticeable difference in stimuli.
Focus of expansion: The singular point from which all visual motion seems to emanate
during movement of an observer. In pure translations, the heading corresponds to
the focus of expansion.
Follicle sinus complex: The unit of the vibrissa and its follicle is called follicle sinus
complex.
Go/no go-experiment: In a go/no go-experiment, the animal has to wait for a specific time
interval when confronted with the no go-stimulus, but it has to give a response
within the respective time interval when confronted with the go-stimulus.
Guard hairs: Guard hairs form one layer of the fur. Guard hairs are long hairs that stick
out of the undercoat, the bottom layer of the fur.
Hydrodynamic trail: The water disturbances caused by every object that is pulled or
actively swimming through the water.
Hydrodynamics: Hydrodynamics is the ability of an organism to detect water movements.
Lateral line: A sensory organ of aquatic vertebrates that is able to detect water movements
and vibrations.
Method of constant stimuli: A predefined set of stimuli spanning the threshold is repeatedly presented to the experimental subject.
Numerical simulation: Numerical simulation is a technique of computational fluid
dynamics.
Operant conditioning: Operant conditioning describes a method of learning during
which an organism learns through the consequences of its own behavior.
Chapter twelve: Visual and hydrodynamic flow perception
Glossary
Absolute threshold: The smallest amount of stimulus energy to produce a sensation.
Active touch: Active tactile exploration of objects. Tactile perception is mediated by pressure, skin stretch, vibration, and temperature sensors.
Benthic prey: Prey that lives close to, on, or in the seabed.
Bioluminescence: Some organisms are able to produce and emit light either themselves
or with the help of bioluminescent bacteria.
Breathing current: A breathing current is generated by water being expelled from the gill
opening of a fish.
Burst-and-glide swimming: A type of swimming in which undulatory bursts are alternating with periods in which the body is held straight and the organism is gliding
forward.
Ciliary body: The ciliary muscle and epithelium are called the ciliary body. The ciliary
muscle is connected via the zonular fibers to the lens and mediates accommodation. The ciliary body is furthermore involved in the production and resorption of
the aqueous humor.
Classical conditioning: As a result of classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus (e.g., light) elicits the response (salivation) associated with an unconditioned
stimulus (food). This is achieved by repeatedly pairing the neutral stimulus with
the unconditioned stimulus.
Coherent motion: When objects move coherently, they move into the same direction.
Coherence can vary between 100% meaning that all objects in a display move into
the same direction or 0% meaning that all objects move randomly.
Dark adaptation: Dark adaptation is the ability of the eye to adjust its sensitivity to dim
light conditions.
Difference threshold: The amount of change in a stimulus required to produce a just
noticeable difference in stimuli.
Focus of expansion: The singular point from which all visual motion seems to emanate
during movement of an observer. In pure translations, the heading corresponds to
the focus of expansion.
Follicle sinus complex: The unit of the vibrissa and its follicle is called follicle sinus
complex.
Go/no go-experiment: In a go/no go-experiment, the animal has to wait for a specific time
interval when confronted with the no go-stimulus, but it has to give a response
within the respective time interval when confronted with the go-stimulus.
Guard hairs: Guard hairs form one layer of the fur. Guard hairs are long hairs that stick
out of the undercoat, the bottom layer of the fur.
Hydrodynamic trail: The water disturbances caused by every object that is pulled or
actively swimming through the water.
Hydrodynamics: Hydrodynamics is the ability of an organism to detect water movements.
Lateral line: A sensory organ of aquatic vertebrates that is able to detect water movements
and vibrations.
Method of constant stimuli: A predefined set of stimuli spanning the threshold is repeatedly presented to the experimental subject.
Numerical simulation: Numerical simulation is a technique of computational fluid
dynamics.
Operant conditioning: Operant conditioning describes a method of learning during
which an organism learns through the consequences of its own behavior.