Facets of Vision


Book Description

The papers published in this Volume are the fruits of a symposium held in Regensburg in April 1987. The meeting was held to com memorate two most significant events in the development of com pound eye research. In chronological order these are firstly, Sigmund Exner's seminal monograph on the physiology of compound eyes of crustaceans and insects, which was first published in Vienna in 1891, and is now shortly to appear for the first time in the English translation [Exner, S. (1989) The Physiology of the Compound Eyes of Insects and Crustaceans. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo]. Secondly, the meeting was also held in honour of Professor Hansjochem Autrum's 80th birthday. Professor Autrum, who is justly acknowledged as one of the pioneers of modern compound eye research, attended the meeting as the guest of honour. In keeping with these historical occasions, it has been our intention in this volume to present a comprehensive collection of short reviews covering the major aspects of compound eye research. Whilst the most up-to-date developments have been included in every field from optics, through photochemistry, phototransduction, integrative processes and behavior, an attempt has also been made to provide a historical perspective.




Facets of Vision


Book Description

The papers published in this Volume are the fruits of a symposium held in Regensburg in April 1987. The meeting was held to com memorate two most significant events in the development of com pound eye research. In chronological order these are firstly, Sigmund Exner's seminal monograph on the physiology of compound eyes of crustaceans and insects, which was first published in Vienna in 1891, and is now shortly to appear for the first time in the English translation [Exner, S. (1989) The Physiology of the Compound Eyes of Insects and Crustaceans. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo]. Secondly, the meeting was also held in honour of Professor Hansjochem Autrum's 80th birthday. Professor Autrum, who is justly acknowledged as one of the pioneers of modern compound eye research, attended the meeting as the guest of honour. In keeping with these historical occasions, it has been our intention in this volume to present a comprehensive collection of short reviews covering the major aspects of compound eye research. Whilst the most up-to-date developments have been included in every field from optics, through photochemistry, phototransduction, integrative processes and behavior, an attempt has also been made to provide a historical perspective.




Foundations of Vision


Book Description

Designed for students, scientists and engineers interested in learning about the core ideas of vision science, this volume brings together the broad range of data and theory accumulated in this field.







See to Play


Book Description

Only the best eyes make it -- Superhuman acuity -- See wide for champion side vision -- Move your eyes! -- Fast focus finishes first -- Eye-hand-body coordination -- Visual noise -- Using and expanding your mind's eye -- Lifestyle choices for athletic eyes -- Eye injuries -- Early career exercises -- See to play vision exercises -- See to play ranking method.




Evolution's Witness


Book Description

"The evolution of the eye spans 3.75 billion years from single cell organisms with eyespots to Metazoa with superb camera style eyes. At least ten different ocular models have evolved independently into myriad optical and physiological masterpieces. The story of the eye reveals evolution's greatest triumph and sweetest gift. This book describes its journey"--Provided by publisher.




The New Visual Neurosciences


Book Description

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




Eyes to See


Book Description

Vision is the sense by which we and other animals obtain most of our information about the world around us. Darwin appreciated that at first sight it seems absurd that the human eye could have evolved by natural selection. But we now know far more about vision, the many times it has independently evolved in nature, and the astonishing variety of ways to see. The human eye, with a lens forming an image on a sensitive retina, represents just one. Scallops, shrimps, and lobsters all use mirrors in different ways. Jumping spiders scan with their front-facing eyes to check whether the object in front is an insect to eat, another spider to mate with, or a predator to avoid. Mantis shrimps can even measure the polarization of light. Animal eyes are amazing structures, often involving precision optics and impressive information processing, mainly using wet protein - not the substance an engineer would choose for such tasks. In Eyes to See, Michael Land, one of the leading world experts on vision, explores the varied ways in which sight has evolved and is used in the natural world, and describes some of the ingenious experiments researchers have used to uncover its secrets. He also discusses human vision, including his experiments on how our eye movements help us to do everyday tasks, as well as skilled ones such as sight-reading music or driving. He ends by considering the fascinating problem of how the constantly shifting images from our eyes are converted in the brain into the steady and integrated conscious view of the world we experience.




The Mind's Eye


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From “the poet laureate of medicine" (The New York Times) and the author of the classic The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat comes a fascinating exploration of the remarkable, unpredictable ways that our brains cope with the loss of sight by finding rich new forms of perception. “Elaborate and gorgeously detailed.... Again and again, Sacks invites readers to imagine their way into minds unlike their own, encouraging a radical form of empathy.” —Los Angeles Times With compassion and insight, Dr. Oliver Sacks again illuminates the mysteries of the brain by introducing us to some remarkable characters, including Pat, who remains a vivacious communicator despite the stroke that deprives her of speech, and Howard, a novelist who loses the ability to read. Sacks investigates those who can see perfectly well but are unable to recognize faces, even those of their own children. He describes totally blind people who navigate by touch and smell; and others who, ironically, become hyper-visual. Finally, he recounts his own battle with an eye tumor and the strange visual symptoms it caused. As he has done in classics like The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat and Awakenings, Dr. Sacks shows us that medicine is both an art and a science, and that our ability to imagine what it is to see with another person's mind is what makes us truly human.




Eye, Brain, and Vision


Book Description

For over thirty years, Nobel Prize winner David H. Hubel has been at the forefront of research on questions of vision. In Eye, Brain, and Vision, he brings you to the edge of current knowledge about vision, and explores the tasks scientists face in deciphering the many remaining mysteries of vision and the workings of the human brain.