Question

How do we perceive an object in an upright manner even though the image formed on the retina is inverted?

Answer 1

1. Light rays reflected from an object enter the eye through the cornea, aqueous humour, pupil, lens and vitreous humour.
2. The cornea and the lens refract the light rays and focus them on the retina.
3. Since the eye acts like a convex lens, a real and inverted image of the object is formed on the retina.
4. The rods and cones of the retina convert light energy into electrical nerve impulses.
5. These impulses travel through the optic nerve to the visual centre in the cerebrum of the brain.
6. The brain analyses and interprets these impulses by using information from both eyes and past visual experience.
7. Although the retinal image is inverted, the brain processes it in such a way that the object is perceived in its correct, upright position.
8. Thus, upright vision is due to the interpretation of the brain and not because the image formed on the retina is upright.