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.

If you've ever been tricked by an optical illusion, you'll have some idea about just how clever the relationship between your eyes and your brain is. This book leads one through the intricacies of the subject and demystifying how we see.

In recent years there has been a host of new advances in our understanding of how we see. From molecular genetics come details of the photopigments and the molecular causes of disorders like colour blindness. In-depth analysis has shown how a cell converts light into a neural signal using the photopigments. Traditional techniques of microelectrode recording along with new techniques of functional imaging - such as PET scans - have made it possible to understand how visual information is processed in the brain. This processing results in the single coherent perception of the world we see in our 'mind's eye'. An Introduction to the Visual System provides a concise, but detailed, overview of this field. It is clearly written, and each chapter ends with a helpful 'key points' section. It is ideal for anyone studying visual perception, from the second year of an undergraduate course onwards.

Some of the best vision scientists in the world in their respective fields have contributed to chapters in this book. They have expertise in a wide variety of fields, including bioengineering, basic and clinical visual science, medicine, neurophysiology, optometry, and psychology. Their combined efforts have resulted in a high quality book that covers modeling and quantitative analysis of optical, neurosensory, oculomotor, perceptual and clinical systems. It includes only those techniques and models that have such fundamentally strong physiological, control system, and perceptual bases that they will serve as foundations for models and analysis techniques in the future. The book is aimed first towards seniors and beginning graduate students in biomedical engineering, neurophysiology, optometry, and psychology, who will gain a broad understanding of quantitative analysis of the visual system. In addition, it has sufficient depth in each area to be useful as an updated reference and tutorial for graduate and post-doctoral students, as well as general vision scientists.

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.

Visual Perception explores fundamental topics underlying the field of visual perception, including the perception of brightness and color, the physics of light, and the optics of the eye. Although the text leans heavily on physical and physiological concepts, explanations of the relevant physics and physiology are considered. This book is organized into 16 chapters and begins with an overview of the relationship between information assimilation and the physiology of the visual system based on data gathered both in physiological and perceptual experiments. More specifically, this text discusses the nature of the human perceptual system in terms of the kinds of information that are assimilated from the world, and how this selection of information is governed by the structure of receptors and the neural circuits that are connected to them. The relationships between symbols and their corresponding physical and physiological variables are also examined. Finally, the book addresses the presence of strong lateral inhibition in the visual system and how it fits the concept of evolution. This book is aimed at undergraduate and graduate students, regardless of their academic backgrounds.

This textbook is intended for use in a course for undergraduate students in biology, neuroscience or psychology who have had an introductory course on the structure and function of the nervous system. Its primary purpose is to provide a working vocabulary and knowledge of the biology of vision and to acquaint students with the major themes in biological vision research. Part I treats the eye as an image-forming organ and provides an overview of the projections from the retina to key visual structures of the brain. Part II examines the functions of the retina and its central projections in greater detail, building on the introductory material of Part I. Part III treats certain special topics in vision that require this detailed knowledge of the structure and properties of the retina and visual projections.

The author traces the history and theory of visual culture asking how and why visual media have become so central to contemporary everyday life. He explores a wide range of visual forms, including painting, sculpture, photography, television, cinema, virtual reality, and the Internet while addressing the subjects of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, the body, and the international media event that followed the death of Princess Diana.

This tutorial explains the human eye, its function, and performance limits from the perspective of an experienced optical engineer and lens designer. It is concise and readable, with examples and data, and is intended for students, practicing engineers, and technology users.