9.036 The Visual System, Spring 2003
Diagrammatic representation of the visual system in primates, showing the visual information processing pathways. (Image by Prof. Peter Schiller.)
Highlights of this Course
This comprehensive course on the visual system is designed to ground future researchers in the field of visual science, and to provide scientists with an excellent basis for using the visual system as a model in research. The
readings touch on all aspects of vision, from organization through visually guided eye movements. The student
presentations are designed to prepare students for presenting primary journal articles in a critical fashion to their peers. This course, the cornerstone of all the vision courses offered at MIT, is taught by Prof. Peter Schiller, one of the world leaders in the field of vision research.
Course Description
In this seminar anatomical, neurophysiological, imaging and behavioral research will be examined in an attempt to gain a better understanding of how information is processed in the primate visual system. The first five sessions provide an overview of the functional and structural organization of the visual system with a critical examination of some of the basic issues in the field. Thereafter the emphasis will shift to the question of how various aspects of the visual scene are processed in the visual system. We will study color vision, adaptation, the role of eye movements in carrying out visual analysis, motion perception, depth perception and pattern perception.