9.35 Sensation and Perception, Spring 2001
This image shows a snakelike pattern that can be used to probe the perception of brightness. (Courtesy of Prof. Edward Adelson.)
Highlights of this Course
This undergraduate course is an exploration on how stimuli in the world are transformed into neural signals and processed by the brain.
Lecture note examples are focused on the exploration of the different levels in the visual system.
Readings and a sample
assignment are designed to ground students in the subject.
Course Description
This course studies how senses work and how physical stimuli get transformed into signals in the nervous system. Students examine how the brain uses those signals to determine what's out there in the world. All the senses are discussed but vision is covered most extensively, with topics including the perception of color, motion, form, and depth. Graduate students are expected to complete additional work.