Introduction to Sensation and Perception

The first thing everyone learns about V1 neurons is that they are selective for orientation — this is the first thing that was discovered by Hubel and Wiesel as they were studying cat V1 in the 1960s. The figure below has a simplified wiring diagram showing how spatially selective connections between orientation-insensitive LGN neurons and Read more »

After understanding the example of Banjo and the Lawn Chair, make up your own equations to describe how your brain chose between two alternate hypotheses to interpret a sensory experience.

This one is super easy to do and kind of fun, although it only generates qualitative data, not quantitative data. So to generate a figure for a lab report, you can just illustrate the kind of food you ate, or your reaction to it with and without your sense of smell.

We are learning that our brain spends a lot of time guessing about the structure of the world. All we have are a few sensations, and we have to put them together to understand what objects are out there. This exercise shows us how our brain uses inference to create perception.

This slide show has instructions for measuring the tactile acuity of your fingertip and palm, using the Method of Constant Stimuli. In the process, you will create a psychometric function for each body part, and you will use it to determine what your two-point discrimination threshold is. A low threshold means you can distinguish two Read more »

This Google slide show has instructions for completing an experiment that demonstrates how our sensitivity to change depends on how strong the original stimulus is.

Learning Objectives Be able to describe what synesthesia is. Be able to describe color/grapheme synesthesia. Synesthesia is a condition in which individuals experience atypical responses to certain types of stimuli, in addition to the typical responses elicited by those stimuli. For example, a synesthete may perceive tastes when seeing certain shapes or might perceive colors Read more »

This slide show has activities and links to activities that will reinforce concepts of presbyopia, the blind spot, lateral inhibition, and chromatic adaptation.

Learning Objectives Know how to define vertigo. Describe the mechanism by which excess alcohol consumption results in vertigo. Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation of moving or of surrounding objects moving when they are not.[1] Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement.[2] This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties Read more »

Learning Objectives Be able to explain what the curveball illusion is. Know that the curveball illusion is an example of when it’s better not to update action plans with new perceptual information. The human visual system does not treat all parts of an image equally: the central segments of an image, which fall on the Read more »

Learning Objectives Be able to define navigation. Be able to describe the location and function of the brain region most commonly associated with navigation. The brain region most strongly implicated in the landmark recognition skills necessary for navigation is the parahippocampal cortex. A recent neuroimaging study found that patients who had received thermal lesions in Read more »

Learning Objectives Know that mirror neurons are located in the premotor cortex (frontal lobe). Be able to explain the function of mirror neurons. Mirror neurons represent a distinctive class of neurons that discharge both when an individual executes a motor act and when they observe another individual performing the same or a similar motor act. Read more »

Learning Objectives Be able to define change blindness. Know that object-selective neurons fail to respond to many things which go unattended. Change blindness refers to the perceptual phenomenon that the observer fails to identify when there is a change in a visual stimulus. We fail to perceive so many things that go unattended. Classic change Read more »