The Brain and Cognitive Sciences I

Study Materials

Lecture Outlines: The Visual System

Lecture 1:

• Organization of the retina and the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN):
  • Wiring diagram of visual system
  • Basic arrangement of the retina: layers, cell types, connections
  • Nature of the receptor array, rods and cones
  • Retinal ganglion cell classes
  • Physiology of pre-ganglionic elements
  • Layout of the LGN
  • Physiology of the LGN
• Organization of visual cortex:
  • Layout of V1: inputs, layers, topography
  • Physiology of V1: basic transforms
  • V1 Cytoarchitecture: modular organization
  • Listing of extrastriate areas
  • Anatomical layout of extrastriate cortex
  • Single cell characteristics of extrastriate areas

Lecture 2:

• The ON and OFF channels of the visual system:
  • The ON and OFF channels, physiology
  • The central connections of the ON and OFF channels
  • The ON and OFF Channels, behavioral studies
• The midget and parasol channels of the visual system:
  • The Midget and Parasol channels, physiology
  • The central connections of the Midget and Parasol channels
  • The Midget and Parasol channels, behavioral studies

Report: Maunsell et al. and Ferrera et al.

Lecture 3:

• Processing of depth perception:
  • Basics of depth perception: oculomotor cues, perspective, shading,parallax, and stereopsis
  • Mechanisms of stereoscopic depth perception
  • The effects of cortical lesions on depth perception
  • Processing of stereopsis in extrastriate cortex
     
• Processing of color perception:
  • Basics of color vision
  • Color processing by photoreceptors, ganglion cells, and cortex
  • Effects of cortical lesions on color vision
  • Color blindness
  • Adaptation and after images
     
• Adaptation:
  • Visibility range
  • Luminance adaptation
  • Chrominance adaptation
     
• Processing of shape perception:
  • Basics of shape perception: general theories
  • Theories of shape processing: line segment analysis, spatial frequency analysis, conformal mapping
  • The effects of cortical lesions on shape processing and stimulus selection

Report: Dacey et al.

Lecture 4: The neural control of eye-movements:

• Types of eye movements
• The eye plant: muscles and their innervation
• Organization of the superior colliculus
• Visual inputs to the superior colliculus
• Cortical control of visually guided eye movements: The posterior and anterior systems
• Function of the frontal and medial eye fields
• Express saccades

Report: Hikosaka and Wurtz papers.

Lecture 5: Motion perception and Recitation:

• Processing of motion:
  • Basics of motion perception
  • The accessory optic system
  • Eye stabilization with the vestibular system
  • Cortical processing of motion
  • The effects of cortical lesions on motion perception

Report: Oyster and Barlow

• Overview