NEUR3001 Advanced Visual Neuroscience
An interdisciplinary course on the Anatomy, Physiology and Psychophysics of Vision
The full unit includes the NEUR3045 Visual Neuroscience half-unit as well as the additional lectures and requirements listed below.
This course will teach advanced visual neuroscience from a broad, interdisciplinary point of view. Our modern understanding of vision and visual processing depends not only on the more traditional fields of anatomy, physiology and psychophysics, which remain centrally important, but also on the fields of genetics, molecular and cellular biology, ophthalmology, neurology, cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging. In this course, we will present visual neuroscience as a multidisciplinary, yet integrated field of study.
Aims:The aim is to provide students with an understanding of the functional anatomy and neurophysiology of the visual system, and an understanding of how neural activity results in visual perception and in behaviours that depend on vision. Students will be introduced to a variety of methods for investigating visual neuroscience including molecular biology, psychophysics, single cell recording, electrophysiology, brain imaging, and the experimental study of patients with brain damage or genetic defects.
Summary of Course Content: The course presents a multidisciplinary approach to vision. It will cover anatomical, physiological, genetic, molecular and psychological approaches. The first part of the course, which can be taken as a separate half unit, covers the fundamentals of visual neuroscience from the visual input at the retina to visual perception. The topics range from retinal imaging, visual transduction, the functional anatomy of the retina and LGN, cortical processing to higher level visual functions, such as colour, depth, space, and motion perception. The second part of the course, which completes the full unit, will cover advanced topics including the neural development of the retina, visual development in babies and infants, more in depth coverage of retinal and cortical processing, fMRI, object and face recognition, visual memory, vision and action, colour, space, depth, motion and form perception, high level cortical processing, neurology and ophthalmology.
Students who take the full-unit will be provided with a strong foundation in visual neuroscience as well as an extensive and unique coverage of the topic that reflects the remarkable diversity of local expertise in vision and visual neuroscience at UCL.Course Organiser:
Andrew
Stockman
Institute of Ophthalmology
London EC1V
9EL
Phone: 020 7608 6914
email: a.stockman@ucl.ac.uk
Deputy course Organiser:
Stewart Shipp
Institute of Ophthalmology
11-43 Bath Street
London EC1V 9EL
email: s.shipp@ucl.ac.uk
Course
Web site (here):
http://www.cvrl.org
or http://cvrl.ucl.ac.uk
Course lecturers:
Dr. Elaine Anderson (Ophthalmology), email: e.anderson@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk
Dr. Steve
Dakin (Ophthalmology), email: s.dakin@ucl.ac.uk
Prof. Mitch Glickstein (Anatomy), email: m.glickstein@ucl.ac.uk
Prof. Glen Jeffery (Ophthalmology), email: g.jeffery@ucl.ac.uk
Prof. Alan Johnston (Psychology), email: a.johnston@ucl.ac.uk
Dr. Marko
Nardini (Ophthalmology), email: m.nardini@ucl.ac.uk
Prof. Gary
Rubin (Ophthalmology), email: g.rubin@ucl.ac.uk
Prof. Tom
Salt (Ophthalmology), email: t.salt@ucl.ac.uk
Dr. Stewart Shipp (Ophthalmology), email: s.shipp@ucl.ac.uk
Prof.
Andrew Stockman (Ophthalmology), email: a.stockman@ucl.ac.uk
NEUR3001 "Advanced Visual Neuroscience" 2012-2013 Timetable
BASIC TOPICS
Note that these lectures are also the lectures for the NEUR3045 Visual Neuroscience half-unit.
BLOCK G: 2-6 pm Tuesday in Foster Court 114, except the parallel NEUR3001 seminars, which are in the AV Hill lecture theatre, and Lecture 10, which is in 25 Gordon St., as noted below.
Week 1 |
||
| Tuesday | 8th Jan 2-3 | 1. Course introduction/ Historical introduction (AS/MG) |
| Tuesday | 8th Jan 3-4 | 2. Fundamentals of neuroscience: cells, axons, and synapses (TS) |
| Tuesday | 8th Jan 4-5 | 3. Fundamentals of psychophysics (SD) |
| Week 2 | ||
| Tuesday | 15th Jan 2-3 | 4. Physiological optics and the photoreceptor mosaic (AS) |
| Tuesday | 15th Jan 3-4 | 5. Photoreceptors and phototransduction (AS) |
| Tuesday | 15th Jan 4-5 | 6. Introduction to retina (TS) |
| Week 3 | ||
| Tuesday | 22nd Jan 2-3 | 7. Achromatic & chromatic vision (AS) |
| Tuesday | 22nd Jan 3-4 | 8. Visual psychophysics and sensitivity regulation (AS) |
| Week 4 | ||
| Tuesday | 29th Jan 2-3 | 9. Comparative anatomy of the eye (MG) |
| Tuesday | 29th Jan 3-4 | 10. Parallel visual pathways (MG) |
| Tuesday | 29th Jan 4-6 | Demo 1. Colour vision demonstrations (SS) |
| Week 5 | ||
| Tuesday | 5th Feb 2-3 | 11. Multiple visual areas of cortex (SS) |
| Tuesday | 5th Feb 3-4 | 12. Hierarchical visual processing (SS) |
| Tuesday | 5th Feb 4-6 | Demo 2. Optical demonstrations (MG) |
| Week 6 | ||
READING WEEK |
||
| Week 7 | ||
| Tuesday | 19th Feb 2-3 | 13. The neural correlate of consciousness (SS) |
| Tuesday | 19th Feb 3-4 | 14. Spatial vision (SD) |
| Week 8 | ||
| Tuesday | 26th Feb 2-3 | 15. Basic motion (AJ) |
| Tuesday | 26th Feb 3-4 | 16. Depth perception/Visual Illusions (AS) |
| Week 9 | ||
| Tuesday | 5th Mar 2-5 | Seminar A. (NEUR3045). Pathways & cortical processing seminar. |
| Tuesday | 5th Mar 3-5 | Seminar A. (NEUR3001). Retina and Pathways & cortical processing seminar (A-G). Christopher Ingold XLG1 Chemistry LT. |
| Week 10 | ||
| Tuesday | 12th Mar 2-5 | Seminar B. (NEUR3045). Visual function seminar. |
| Tuesday | 12th Mar 3-5 | Seminar B. (NEUR3001). Pathways & cortical processing seminar (H-M) and Visual function seminar. Cruciform B304 - LT1. |
| Week 11 | ||
| Tuesday | 19th Mar 2-6 | Slots for rescheduled lectures, extra seminars, revision class. |
ADVANCED TOPICS
BLOCK D: Various locations..
Week 1 |
||
| Thursday | 10th Jan 10-11 | 1. Course Introduction (AS) Rockefeller B15. |
Week 2 |
||
| Tuesday | 15th Jan 12-1 | 2. Advanced psychophysics (SD) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 17th Jan 10-11 | 3. Advanced retina (TS) Rockefeller B15. |
| Week 3 | ||
| Tuesday | 22nd Jan 12-1 | 4. The LGN is more than a relay station (TS) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 24th Jan 10-11 | 5. Spatiotemporal vision and filters (SD) Rockefeller B15. Postponed. |
| Week 4 | ||
| Tuesday | 29th Jan 12-1 | 6. Advanced colour (AS) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 31st Jan 10-11 | 7. Visuo-motor pathways (MG) Rockefeller B15. |
| Week 5 | ||
| Tuesday | 5th Feb 12-1 | 8. Neural development of the visual system (GJ) Postponed. |
| Thursday | 7th Feb 10-11 | 9. Visual development in babies and infants (MN) Rockefeller B15. |
| Week 6 | ||
READING WEEK |
||
| Week 7 | ||
| Tuesday | 19th Feb 12-1 | 10. Advanced parallel processing (SS) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 21st Feb 10-11 | 11. Low level cortical functions: colour and stereopsis (SS) Rockefeller G02. |
| Week 8 | ||
| Tuesday | 26th Feb 12-1 | 12. Visual memory (SS) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 28th Feb 10-11 | 13. Attention (SS) Rockefeller G02. |
| Week 9 | ||
| Tuesday | 5th Mar 12-1 | 14. Advanced motion (AJ) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 7th Mar 10-11 | 15. Neuropsychology of vision (AJ) Drayton B05. |
| Week 10 | ||
| Tuesday | 12th Mar 12-1 | 16. Reading (GR) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 14th Mar 10-11 | 17. fMRI and visual brain function (EA) Rockefeller B15. |
| Week 11 | ||
| Tuesday | 19th Mar 12-1 | 18. Object recognition and faces (SD) Drayton B16. |
| Thursday | 21st Mar 9-10 | 5. Spatiotemporal vision and filters (SD). New date. Gordon Square (25) B30 |
| Thursday | 21st Mar 10-11 | 8. Neural development of the visual system (GJ) New date. Gordon Square (25) B30 |
| Monday | 25th Mar | Last day to hand in essay and research report |
N.B. Essays must be handed in at the Teaching Office in the Medawar Building.
Recommended text books for the course
Sensation and Perception by Jeremy M. Wolfe et al.
Sensation and Perception by E. Bruce Goldstein
The First Steps in Seeing by R.W Rodieck
Visual Perception: Physiology, Psychology and
Biology by Vicki
Bruce, Patrick Green and Mark Georgeson
Recommended
reference sources for the course
The Visual Neurosciences by Leo Chalupa and John Werner
Webvision at http://webvision.med.utah.edu/
Because of the number of students this year, the seminars for the NEUR 3001 and NEUR 3045 students will be run separately and in parallel (see timetables).
Advanced Visual Neuroscience NEUR3001 2012-2013 Seminar topics
Visual Neuroscience NEUR3045 2012-2013 Seminar topicsPast
exam questions (BIOS 3001/NEUR 3001)
Lectures and lecture notes and references (from the previous year until updated)
Scroll up if the page looks blank!
Practical: perceptual measurements and report
For details of the practical, click here.
For the zip file containg the software click here.
Course Assessment:
- Assessment will be based upon a final 3 hour examination worth 60% and course work worth 40%.
- The course work will include one essay (worth 20%) a presentation given by the student at one of the seminars in the Visual Neuroscience half-unit (worth 10%), and a report of the results of some perceptual measurements (worth 10%, see above). The titles for the seminars will be suggested by the seminar organizers and posted on this web site (link above). The essay titles will be suggested by the individual course lecturers and posted on this web site (link above). The essay and seminar must be on distinctly different topics.
- Essays should not exceed 2500 words. They should be word-processed and handed in electronically using Turnitin and as a hardcopy at the teaching office. Clear diagrams are encouraged.
- The essay must be handed at the teaching office not later than the Thursday of the last week of the course.
- There will be a 3-hour exam for the full-unit. The exam paper will be split into two sections: Basic and Advanced, made up of questions from lectures from NEUR3045 and NEUR3001, respectively. Candidates for the Advanced Visual Neuroscience full-unit must answer a total of three questions, with at least one being chosen from the Basic section, and at least one chosen from the Advanced section.