Figure 3: Stepwise Processing: This figure shows how visual information is processed in a stepwise manner through the brain. Each step along the path has two functions. Firstly it acts as a processing station where the incoming information is transformed in a specific manner. Secondly, it acts as input for the next stage. Collectively these stages go together to form a cascaded relay system where incoming information flows through a highly systematic pathway very quickly. The word cascade comes from waterfalls, where the flowing streams in small waterfalls follow highly intricate paths as they flow down a hill. The pattern of riverlets in a waterfall is random. This is not the case for human perception- all of the paths through which information flows are highly organized because all of the different relays are abstract mappings, such as the sensory homunculus that utilize the information in an efficient manner.

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