How vision works.
With vision being the dominant sense for humans, seeing clearly is essential to unlocking human potential in today’s fast-paced, visually demanding world.
At ZEISS we know, vision is a complex process that happens also in the brain, not just the eyes.
How we absorb information.
As light and visual information enter the eye, it is projected onto the retina, where the photoreceptors sit. Signals from the photoreceptors are projected via bipolar and ganglion cells to the lateral geniculate nucleus.
How we process information.
Further information processing (e.g., recognition of shapes, objects, etc.) happens in different areas of the brain, including the working memory – a cognitive system responsible for temporarily holding and processing information needed for complex tasks, such as reasoning, learning, and comprehension.
How vision impacts the mind.
Crisp, clear vision is easy for the mind to process. When vision is blurred, the eyes transmit incomplete information to the brain. This forces the brain to work harder to interpret and fill in the gaps with the missing details, increasing the cognitive load.
ZEISS research proves: Blurred vision increases the cognitive load.
Based on the understanding how a person’s vision and mind is connected, ZEISS conducted original research in collaboration with the University of Tübingen to explore whether or not the blur in lenses affects the cognitive load. Lens blur may increase the effort required for the brain to process visual information.
In an EEG (electroencephalography) study, participants were asked to perform different tasks while their brain activity was monitored. We then introduced lens blur to the tasks and compared their performance and brain responses.
The result: For the first time worldwide, ZEISS demonstrated that lens blur affects the cognitive load.