Recent vision research has led to the emergence of new techniques that offer exciting potential for a more complete assessment of vision in clinical, industrial, and military settings. Emergent Techniques for Assessment of Visual Performance examines four areas of vision testing that offer potential for improved assessment of visual capability including: contrast sensitivity function, dark-focus of accommodation, dynamic visual acuity and dynamic depth tracking, and ambient and focal vision. In contrast to studies of accepted practices, this report focuses on emerging techniques that could help determine whether people have the vision necessary to do their jobs. In addition to examining some of these emerging techniques, the report identifies their usefulness in predicting performance on other visual and visual-motor tasks, and makes recommendations for future research. Emergent Techniques for Assessment of Visual Performance provides summary recommendations for research that will have significant value and policy implications for the next 5 to 10 years. The content and conclusions of this report can serve as a useful resource for those responsible for screening industrial and military visual function.

This book is designed to help students organize their thinking about psychology at a conceptual level. The focus on behaviour and empiricism has produced a text that is better organized, has fewer chapters, and is somewhat shorter than many of the leading books. The beginning of each section includes learning objectives; throughout the body of each section are key terms in bold followed by their definitions in italics; key takeaways, and exercises and critical thinking activities end each section.

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

"Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior" is a cognitive neuroscience that maps cognitive/behavioral units with anatomical regions in the human brain. The brain-behavioral associations are based on functional neuroimaging combined with lesion studies. The findings will be used to explain differences in clinical syndromes with videos of patients included.

The Eye: Volume 2, The Visual Process is a compendium of papers that describes the physiology of the eye, particularly the visual functions, the photobiology of the visual process, and the visual pathway. One paper describes the light stimuli used in physiological experiments concerning vision in terms of their spectral energy distribution, particularly the amounts of light absorbed by the photosensitive substances contained in the retinal receptors. Another paper explains the mosaic-like arrangement of the receptors and the variations of this mosaic in the different regions of the retina, including the Purkinje phenomenon which can cause errors in visual measurements. One paper examines the directional properties of the rods at long wavelengths and the theory of the Stiles-Crawford effect. Other papers investigate the limits of the visible spectrum, the scotopic luminous efficiency, theories of dark-adaptation, as well as the minimum retinal illumination, the minimum flux of energy, and the minimum amount necessary for vision. One paper notes that whereas one rod can be stimulated by one quantum (a discrete process involving one pigment molecule), it is not sufficient to make a human subject see a light stimulus. The compendium is invaluable for researchers and investigators involved in physiology, psychology, ophthalmology, and in all branches of ocular physiology.

Transmitters in the Visual Process is a compilation of papers presented at a symposium of the Fifth International Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry in Barcelona in September 1975. This collection presents a multidisciplinary field of study on visual transmitter physiology, pharmacology, and intracellular transmitters. One paper discusses the structure and mechanism of the visual system of vertebrates that consists of cells that transmit photon signals absorbed in a photoreceptor cell to the brain. This book focuses on which transmitter is involved at that certain point where the signal crosses the gap between two stimulated adjacent membranes. One paper then examines the role of cyclic nucleotides in the functions of the rod outer segment, which is the sensitive part, of the photoreceptor cell. The different kinds of chemicals, such as calcium, taurine, gamma-amino butyric acid, glycine, and biogenic monoamines are examined as to their role as transmitters in the retina. This book concludes with a presentation of the results of a study done on the neurotransmitters and the isolated optic tract-superior colliculus of a guinea pig. This compendium will serve the needs of biochemists, medical students, and researchers in the fields of ophthalmology and neurophysiology.