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UCI General Catalog
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131A Vision (4). Same as Biological Sciences 182.
Visual perception and the anatomy and physiology of the
visual system. Topics include: the retina and the visual
pathway; visual sensitivity; color vision; spatial vision;
motion perception; and the development of the visual system.
Psychology 130A may not be taken for credit if taken after
Psychology 131A.
**** Some words of caution. In previous years, students have found
this course difficult. Although a textbook (Palmer, Vision Science)
is recommended, the course does not closely follow any particular text.
If a student already owns a textbook on sensation and perception with
a major section on vision, that would probably be adequate. Because
the course covers a lot of material, lectures do not dwell long even
on more difficult topics, so a textbook is can be helpful. Textbooks
by Palmer, Goldstein (various editions), and by Bruce, Green, and
Georgeson, are on reserve in the UCI Libraries.
**** Lectures will present material of practical and theoretical
interest in vision, some of which will not be tested in examinations.
If you prefer courses in which the lectures are restricted to preparing
you for examinations, DO NOT take this course.
ENROLLMENT: Notice to prospective students
Although the campus registration system may say that the class is full,
there typically is a great deal of turnover in the first few weeks and
there will be space for anyone who wishes to enroll. Come to the first
class meeting, and the instructor will sign your enrollment card.
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Elaborated course description specific to Prof. Sperling
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131A. Vision (4). Visual perception and its basis in the anatomy and physiology
of the visual system and the physics of light. Topics: physics of light,
lenses, photometry; physiology and anatomy of the retina and visual pathways
(including mechanisms of neural transmission, receptive fields); neural and
psychological mechanisms for the perception of brightness, color, depth,
motion, objects; consciousness; visual development; applications to vision
of psychophysical methods and sensory scaling, of linear systems theory, and
of decision theory. Students learn how to solve selected applied problems
and learn about general algorithms that apply to visual perception, to neural
computation, and to robotic vision systems.
Suggested background
Students should be familiar with the following statistical concepts:
probability density function
cumulative probability distribution
mean
variance
correlation
Students should be able to solve the following equation for x: a/x = b/d
Optional extra topic: Learn to make a log-log graph of
y=x^2 (y equals x squared) without consulting a table of logarithms.
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Nota bene:
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This is a SCIENCE course.
(1) The aim is to get an idea of how the brain works (and how to figure
out how the brain works) using the visual system as an example.
(2) Learn phenomena of visual perception
(3) Learn some real-life skills, not just how to answer exam questions.
DIVERSE SCIENCES USED IN STUDY OF VISION
The study of visual perception requires
the integration of methods from many sciences and mathematics, and this course
offers brief exposures to the elementary principles of these interdisciplinary
applications. Physics and algebra are involved in the description of light,
lenses, and retinal image formation; chemistry in the the description of the
absorption of light by visual receptors and in the description of synaptic
transmission; physiology and anatomy in the descriptions of the structure and
function of the neurons of the visual system; linear systems theory (from
engineering) in the formal description of visual stimuli and the neural
processing of these stimuli; computer science in the description of neural
algorithms for computing motion and object recognition; probability and
statistics in the theory of signal detection--how neurons and humans make
optimal decisions given ambiguous sensory inputs; measurement theory in the
description of sensory magnitudes; and finally linguistics, logic, and
philosophy apply to issues of sensory awareness and consciousness.
Obviously only the briefest samples of these various domains can be offered
in this course, hopefully they will orient the student with an interest in
neural and cognitive systems to the wide range of full course offerings at UCI
and elsewhere.
There are
SEVEN graded homework problem sets;
TWO in-class interim examinations,
plus ONE FINAL, in-class examination during finals week.
Preperation specifically for the homework problems and for the examinations
occurs in the REQUIRED discussion sections. There, problems from previous
homeworks and exams are reviewed and students practice answering typical
HW and exam questions with help as needed.
Nothing more advanced than elementary high school algebra and geometry
is required for any examination or problem set. The purpose of the
problems is to demonstrate that the knowledge of vision has immediate
real-world applications beyond merely writing essay answers.
Grading is based on total points accumulated in homework assignments and
examinations. Grading is very approximately on a curve based the UCI
average 1996 grade in comparable UCI advanced undergraduate courses
(A-41%, B-36%, C-19%, D-4%). However, if students with poor performance
drop the course and/or students perform well on an absolute standard, this
will be taken into account.
THe instructor's regular office hours are Tuesday and Thursday,
12:30 to 1:30 (after class), also by special appointment. The teaching
assistant(s) will offer additional help, see schedule on Syllabus.
** The instructor will give his permission to add or to drop this course at
any time; however, the instructor cannot override UCI rules that apply in the
various circumstances.
REASONS TO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS
The instructor does not "teach" to the exams in lectures, this occurs
in the required Discussion Sections. The lectures contain some materials
that will not be tested, and some topics that are covered quickly in class
may require students to do additional reading in textbooks and to get help
from the teaching assistants.
The course does not closely follow any textbook. This creates problems for
students who prefer not to attend lectures.
This is occasionally a large class, inherently impersonal.
There is an emphasis on discovering the algorithms and neural computations
carried out by the visual system versus demonstrating phenomena of vision
that are interesting but do not fit into a systematic framework.
Exams are short-answer, NOT multiple choice. You have to study, can't just
guess.
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BOOKS ON RESERVE:
AT LANGSON
1. Palmer, Vision science: photons to phenomenology, 1999
2. Goldstein, Sensation and perception, 1996, 4th ed.
3. Goldstein, Sensation and perception, 1999, 5th ed.
4. Bruce and Green, Visual perception: physiology, psychology and ecology, 1990, 2nd ed.
5. Bruce, Green, & Georgeson, Visual perception: physiology, psychology and ecology, 2003, 4th ed.
AT SCIENCE LIBRARY
6. Snowden, Thompson & Troscianko, Basic vision: an introduction to visual perception, 2006
7. Goldstein, Sensation and perception, 2007, 7th ed.
8. Goldstein, Sensation and perception, 2007, 7th ed., copy #2
9. Goldstein, Sensation and perception, 2010, 8th ed.
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