Define lateral inhibition and, using an example, describe how it works to define an object's edge.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Lateral inhibition is a process whereby each neuron's activity inhibits the activity of its neighbor on either side. In turn, each neuron's activity is also inhibited by its neighbor. The greater the activity, the more the inhibition. The more the inhibition the darker the perception of brightness. For example, using the Mach band illusion, one can report seeing a darker edge on one side of each band versus a lighter edge on the other side. These darker and lighter edges do not actually exist, but they are an illusion created via lateral inhibition. The neurons activated by the darker band send less inhibition to their neighbors, while neurons activated by the lighter band send more inhibition to their neighbors. This inhibition creates a visual illusion at the edges of objects that serve to exaggerate the perception of those edges. In turn, this helps us to identify more clearly one object from the next within our visual field.