An example of my lecture slides for Sensation and Perception.

1. VISION:
LIGHT & THE EYE

2. Preparation before attending class:
Read:
http://www.amazon.com/Foundations-Sensation-Perception-
Second-Edition/dp/1841696994, pages 159-183
Watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg73u1B61rM
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-do-we-see-color-colm-kelleher
Check out:
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/blindspot1.html

3. VISION:
LIGHT & THE EYE
(I play “Long As I Can See The Light” by Creedence
Clearwater Revival as students enter to set the mood)

4. Agenda
Review Neuroscience 101 lecture
Light
The Eye

5. REVIEW!
(This is done via the clicker system, http://clickers.umd.edu/)

6. The _______ lobe is circled.
A. occipital
B. parietal
C. temporal
D. frontal

7. The circled part(s) is(are):
A. Soma
B. Dendrites
C.Axon
D.Axon terminals

8. The human brain has ______
connections than cells:
A. 2x more
B. 10x more
C. 100x more
D. 1000x more

9. LIGHT

10. WHAT IS LIGHT?

11. A BRIEF HISTORY
OF LIGHT

12. Newton

13. Huygens

14. Young

15. Maxwell

16. Planck

17. Einstein

18. 3 Theories of Light
Rays
Waves
Particles

19. Rays
Light travels in straight lines at high speed
Useful to understand lens & images

20. Waves
Light is a wave vibrating at a specific frequency
Useful in understanding color perception

21. Particles
Light is discrete packets of energy (photons)
Useful low light levels because they can be
counted individually

22. The visible spectrum is a limited (small)
part of electromagnetic radiation

23. InfraredUltraviolet

24. Important Properties of Light

25. Reflection
Light rays are
scattered backward
at surface
Why is this important for vision?
This is how we see objects.

26. Transmission
Light quanta of certain
wavelengths are
scattered by the
molecules they hit
Why is this important for vision?
This is how our eyes focus.

27. Absorption
Light quanta are taken
up by a substance
converted to other
types of energy
Why is this important for vision?
This is how we convert light into neural signals

28. What is luminance?
A photometric measure of the energy
Measured in candelas per square meter of surface

29. Luminance

30. Summary
Physics of light
Important properties of light
Luminance

31. ?

32. THE EYE

33. Overview
Structure
Optical properties

34. Overview of the Eye

35. The Eye

36. The Cornea
The transparent membrane which allows light
to enter and starts the process of focusing

37. The Iris
Responsible for controlling the diameter of the pupils
and thus the amount of light reaching the retina

38. The Pupil
The circular aperture through which light passes.
Dilates and contracts to vary light levels in the eye.

39. The Lens
Transparent, biconvex structure
which helps the focusing process

40. The Retina
A light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye
Tranduces light energy into neural signals

41. The Fovea
The center of region of the retina

42. Image Size on the Retina

43. Focusing Images on the Retina
80% Cornea, fixed
20% Lens, variable

44. Accommodation
The process by which the lens adjusts shape
to focus light from objects on the retina.

45. Accommodation
In a relaxed eye, parallel
rays from a distant object
fall into focus on the retina.
Diverging rays from a
nearer object will fall into
focus behind the retina.
In this case, muscles in
the eye change the shape of
the lens to maintain focus
on the retina.

46. (I play a part of video which reinforces how the structure
of the eye supports the function of the eye)

47. Why do the eyes move?
Lots of reasons ...
Spatial resolution
Binocular registration

48. Spatial Resolution
Eye movements maintain the center of attention
on the most acute part of the eye, the fovea.

49. Binocular Registration
Since the eyes are a short distance apart in the head,
they have to make vergence movements to maintain
binocular fixation
Useful in depth perception

50. Summary
The structure of the eye supports the
function of the eye.
Eye movements serve to maintain high
resolution and binocular fixation.

51. ?