The Visual Neurosciences

The Visual Neurosciences
Author: John Simon Werner
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 975
Release: 2004
Genre: Cell physiology
ISBN: 0262033089

An essential reference book for visual science.

The New Cognitive Neurosciences

The New Cognitive Neurosciences
Author: Michael S. Gazzaniga
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 1468
Release: 2000
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780262071956

This second edition reflects the many advances that have taken place in this field, particularly in imaging and recording techniques. The majority of the chapters in this edition of "The Cognitive Neurosciences" are new, and those from the first edition have been rewritten and updated.

The New Visual Neurosciences

The New Visual Neurosciences
Author: John S. Werner
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 1693
Release: 2013-10-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262019167

A comprehensive review of contemporary research in the vision sciences, reflecting the rapid advances of recent years. Visual science is the model system for neuroscience, its findings relevant to all other areas. This essential reference to contemporary visual neuroscience covers the extraordinary range of the field today, from molecules and cell assemblies to systems and therapies. It provides a state-of-the art companion to the earlier book The Visual Neurosciences (MIT Press, 2003). This volume covers the dramatic advances made in the last decade, offering new topics, new authors, and new chapters. The New Visual Neurosciences assembles groundbreaking research, written by international authorities. Many of the 112 chapters treat seminal topics not included in the earlier book. These new topics include retinal feature detection; cortical connectomics; new approaches to mid-level vision and spatiotemporal perception; the latest understanding of how multimodal integration contributes to visual perception; new theoretical work on the role of neural oscillations in information processing; and new molecular and genetic techniques for understanding visual system development. An entirely new section covers invertebrate vision, reflecting the importance of this research in understanding fundamental principles of visual processing. Another new section treats translational visual neuroscience, covering recent progress in novel treatment modalities for optic nerve disorders, macular degeneration, and retinal cell replacement. The New Visual Neurosciences is an indispensable reference for students, teachers, researchers, clinicians, and anyone interested in contemporary neuroscience. Associate Editors Marie Burns, Joy Geng, Mark Goldman, James Handa, Andrew Ishida, George R. Mangun, Kimberley McAllister, Bruno Olshausen, Gregg Recanzone, Mandyam Srinivasan, W.Martin Usrey, Michael Webster, David Whitney Sections Retinal Mechanisms and Processes Organization of Visual Pathways Subcortical Processing Processing in Primary Visual Cortex Brightness and Color Pattern, Surface, and Shape Objects and Scenes Time, Motion, and Depth Eye Movements Cortical Mechanisms of Attention, Cognition, and Multimodal Integration Invertebrate Vision Theoretical Perspectives Molecular and Developmental Processes Translational Visual Neuroscience

An Introduction to the Visual System

An Introduction to the Visual System
Author: Martin J. Tovée
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2008-07-03
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1139472674

Building on the successful formula of the first edition, Martin Tovée offers a concise but detailed account of how the visual system is organised and functions to produce visual perception. He takes his readers from first principles; the structure and function of the eye and what happens when light enters, to how we see and process images, recognise patterns and faces, and through to the most recent discoveries in molecular genetics and brain imaging, and how they have uncovered a host of new advances in our understanding of how visual information is processed within the brain. Incorporating new material throughout, including almost 50 new images, every chapter has been updated to include the latest research, and culminates in helpful key points, which summarise the lessons learnt. This book is an invaluable course text for students within the fields of psychology, neuroscience, biology and physiology.

Perceiving in Depth, Volume 1: Basic Mechanisms

Perceiving in Depth, Volume 1: Basic Mechanisms
Author: Ian P. Howard
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 671
Release: 2012-01-27
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0199877343

The three-volume work Perceiving in Depth is a sequel to Binocular Vision and Stereopsis and to Seeing in Depth, both by Ian P. Howard and Brian J. Rogers. This work is much broader in scope than the previous books and includes mechanisms of depth perception by all senses, including aural, electrosensory organs, and the somatosensory system. Volume 1 reviews sensory coding, psychophysical and analytic procedures, and basic visual mechanisms. Volume 2 reviews stereoscopic vision. Volume 3 reviews all mechanisms of depth perception other than stereoscopic vision. The three volumes are extensively illustrated and referenced and provide the most detailed review of all aspects of perceiving the three-dimensional world. Volume 1 starts with a review of the history of visual science from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th century with special attention devoted to the discovery of the principles of perspective and stereoscopic vision. The first chapter also contains an account of early visual display systems, such as panoramas and peepshows, and the development of stereoscopes and stereophotography. A chapter on the psychophysical and analytic procedures used in investigations of depth perception is followed by a chapter on sensory coding and the geometry of visual space. An account of the structure and physiology of the primate visual system proceeds from the eye through the LGN to the visual cortex and higher visual centers. This is followed by a review of the evolution of visual systems and of the development of the mammalian visual system in the embryonic and post-natal periods, with an emphasis on experience-dependent neural plasticity. An account of the development of perceptual functions, especially depth perception, is followed by a review of the effects of early visual deprivation during the critical period of neural plasticity on amblyopia and other defects in depth perception. Volume 1 ends with accounts of the accommodation mechanism of the human eye and vergence eye movements.

Reading in the Brain

Reading in the Brain
Author: Stanislas Dehaene
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2009-11-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1101152400

A renowned cognitive neuroscientist?s fascinating and highly informative account of how the brain acquires reading How can a few black marks on a white page evoke an entire universe of sounds and meanings? In this riveting investigation, Stanislas Dehaene provides an accessible account of the brain circuitry of reading and explores what he calls the ?reading paradox?: Our cortex is the product of millions of years of evolution in a world without writing, so how did it adapt to recognize words? Reading in the Brain describes pioneering research on how we process language, revealing the hidden logic of spelling and the existence of powerful unconscious mechanisms for decoding words of any size, case, or font. Dehaene?s research will fascinate not only readers interested in science and culture, but also educators concerned with debates on how we learn to read, and who wrestle with pathologies such as dyslexia. Like Steven Pinker, Dehaene argues that the mind is not a blank slate: Writing systems across all cultures rely on the same brain circuits, and reading is only possible insofar as it fits within the limits of a primate brain. Setting cutting-edge science in the context of cultural debate, Reading in the Brain is an unparalleled guide to a uniquely human ability.

Scale in Conscious Experience

Scale in Conscious Experience
Author: Joseph S. King
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2013-04-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 113499589X

This volume is the result of the third Appalachian Conference on Behavioral Neurodynamics which focused on the problem of scale in conscious experience. Set against the philosophical view of "eliminative materialism," the purpose of this conference was to facilitate communication among investigators who approach the study of consciousness and conscious phenomena from a variety of analytical levels. One speculative outcome of the conference is that the columnar arrangement within primary sensory cortices may provide the local isolation necessary for nonlocal interactions to occur. In addition, the relationship between unit activity and field potentials within a circumscribed region of cortex may provide the other enigmatic aspect of neurophysiological nonlocality, namely, the common context in the macro scale. So instead of a problem looking for a solution, scale becomes a solution to a problem. Only further research will determine the utility of the ideas expressed here.

Vision and the Visual System

Vision and the Visual System
Author: Peter H. Schiller
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2015-07-17
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0199936544

Vision and the Visual System offers students, teachers, and researchers a rigorous, yet accessible account of how the brain analyzes the visual scene. Schiller and Tehovnik describe key aspects of visual perception while explaining the relationship between eye movements and the neural structures in the brain, which play a central role in how we process visual information. The book discusses various brain areas involved in processing information, focusing on the evolutionary origins and mechanics behind the several parallel pathways that compose the visual system. Later chapters explain how the nervous system processes the perception of color, motion, depth, and patterns. A variety of illusions are on display in Chapter 14, where the authors provide detailed explanations that deconstruct how the visual system operates to create them. The volume concludes with a discussion of recent attempts to build visual prosthetic devices for blind individuals, of which there are more than 40 million in the world. Vision and the Visual System is based on Professor Schiller's more than 40 years of experience teaching vision courses at MIT, and is tailored especially for college undergraduates and graduate students interested in visual perception and the operations of the visual system. The Dynamic Displays posted here for this book are short video clips that would enhance the reader to understand certain areas of vision. They are particular to the chapter they belong within (9 video clips for Chapter 11, 1 video clip for Chapter 12, and 2 video clips for Chapter 14). http://web.mit.edu/bcs/schillerlab/book.html