Visual System Demonstrations (Direct Links) Demonstration 3.1 Iris and Pupil Size Demonstration 3.2 Poor Visual Acuity Away from Fovea Demonstration 3.3 The Blind Spot Demonstration 3.4 Night Vision and the Fovea Demonstration 3.5 Dark Adaptation Before You Start • As you read the material in this chapter, keep Themes 1 and 2 in mind. The visual system adapted to allow us to function in a world filled with electromagnetic energy (consistent with Theme 1). Moreover, as we look out at the world, our visual field is filled with all sorts of useful information, which our visual system has evolved to perceive (consistent with Theme 2).
Frontiers in Neuroscience The specialty sections of Frontiers in Neuroscience welcome submission of the following article types: Book Review, Case Report, Clinical Trial, Correction, Data Report, Editorial, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Protocols, Review, Specialty Grand Challenge, Technology Report, Systematic Review, Conceptual Analysis, Clinical Study Protocol, CPC, Focused Review and Frontiers Commentary. When submitting a manuscript to Frontiers in Neuroscience, authors must submit the material directly to one of the specialty sections. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed by the Associate and Review Editors of the respective specialty section. Articles published in the specialty sections above will benefit from the Frontiers impact and tiering system after online publication.
Visual Processing: Eye and Retina (Section 2, Chapter 14) Neuroscience Online: An Electronic Textbook for the Neurosciences In this chapter you will learn about how the visual system initiates the processing of external stimuli. The chapter will familiarize you with measures of visual sensation by discussing the basis of form perception, visual acuity, visual field representation, binocular fusion, and depth perception. An important aspect is the regional differences in our visual perception: the central visual field is color-sensitive, has high acuity vision, operates at high levels of illumination whereas the periphery is more sensitive at low levels of illumination, is relatively color insensitive, and has poor visual acuity.
A neuroscientist explains why working out in the morning is best for your brain - Ideapod blog What is the best exercise for your brain? I’m sure it’s something we’ve all wondered before. According to Dr. Wendy Suzuki, a neuroscientist at New York University, the evidence suggests that aerobic exercise does wonders for our brains and bodies. However, we don’t have to engage in heavy aerobic exercise every day. Vision - Theories - History - The Scientific Revolution - Dr Robert A. Hatch If the Scientific Revolution represents an historical shift in knowledge about the natural world, how we 'see' assumes a central place. Regardless of one's understanding of 'science,' claims to 'visual knowledge' represent a relation (or set of relations) between the 'world seen' and the 'world we see.' Throughout the Scientific Revolution these relations - between the observer, medium, and visible object - were re-negotiated. Some things did not change. Old problems persisted (binocular vision; judging size, distance, shape) and rival theories continued to include conflicting aims and assumptions (mathematical, physical, psychological). But where early theorists tended to emphasize geometrical and formal accounts of vision new efforts focused on the visual effects of material theories of light.
Could Consciousness Come Down to the Way Things Vibrate? Summary: A new paper proposes resonance may contribute to human consciousness. Source: The Conversation. Why is my awareness here, while yours is over there? Why is the universe split in two for each of us, into a subject and an infinity of objects? Object moved Thus, the visual process begins by comparing the amount of light striking any small region of the retina with the amount of surrounding light. Visual information from the retina is relayed through the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus to the primary visual cortex — a thin sheet of tissue (less than one-tenth of an inch thick), a bit larger than a half-dollar, which is located in the occipital lobe in the back of the brain. The primary visual cortex is densely packed with cells in many layers, just as the retina is. In its middle layer, which receives messages from the lateral geniculate nucleus, scientists have found responses similar to those seen in the retina and in lateral geniculate cells.
How the Brain Switches Between Different Sets of Rules Summary: A new study identifies four genes mutations which are associated with an increased risk of suicide. Source: MIT. Cognitive flexibility — the brain’s ability to switch between different rules or action plans depending on the context — is key to many of our everyday activities. For example, imagine you’re driving on a highway at 65 miles per hour. When you exit onto a local street, you realize that the situation has changed and you need to slow down. When we move between different contexts like this, our brain holds multiple sets of rules in mind so that it can switch to the appropriate one when necessary. Stress Doesn't Cause Ulcers! Or, How To Win a Nobel Prize in One Easy Lesson: Barry Marshall on Being ... Right Not that long ago, Barry Marshall was an obscure physician studying the etiology of ulcers at a hospital in Perth, Australia — several thousand literal and figurative miles from the center of the medical universe. His work was unconventional, not to say heretical, and in 1986, he was invited to discuss it at a gastroenterology conference in the United States. His wife came along and, while doing some sightseeing, overheard a conversation among some other gastroenterologists' wives who happened to be sitting in front of her on a bus. "They were talking about this terrible person that they imported from Australia to speak," Marshall told me. "You know: 'How could they put such rubbish in the conference?'
Short Term Memory by Saul McLeod published 2009 Short-term memory (STM) is the second stage of the multi-store memory model proposed by the Atkinson-Shiffrin. The duration of STM seems to be between 15 and 30 seconds, and the capacity about 7 items. Short term memory has three key aspects: 1. limited capacity (only about 7 items can be stored at a time) Memory Retrieval When you want to remember something, you retrieve the information on an unconscious level, bringing it into your conscious mind at will. While most people think they have either a "bad" or a "good" memory, in fact, most people are fairly good at remembering some types of things and not so good at remembering others. If you do have trouble remembering something -- assuming you don't have a physical disease -- it's usually not the fault of your entire memory system but an inefficient component of one part of your memory system. Let's look at how you remember where you put your eyeglasses.
Vision Issues After Brain Injury: BrainLine Talks with Dr. Gregory Goodrich BrainLine sat down with Dr. Gregory Goodrich to talk about the problems with vision that can arise after a traumatic brain injury. Dr. Goodrich is the supervisory research psychologist assigned to the VA Western Blind Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto, California. LEARNING & MEMORY: How Do We Remember and Why Do We Often Forget? The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the very first time. —Friedrich Nietzsche MEMORY SITUATION #1: Immediately after your assistant has given you the number of an important client, you hang up, but before you can dial, someone asks you for the time.