Vision
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Using Color to Keep Track of Objects
The brain has trouble with keeping track of more than three objects at the same time. Color groupings, like the jerseys of a football team, helps us manage larger number of objects. How might you utilize color to help you organize studying?
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Extraordinary People: The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes
This is a documentary about a boy who is blind, but has taught himself to use echo location to navigate around the world. Do you think his abilities are based on memorization of familiar activities and surroundings? Do you think someone who was blind from birth would be able to use this technique to see?
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MRIs and Synesthesia
Cognitive neuroscientists have now documented hundreds of cases of synesthesia the condition in which one sense triggers the response of a different one. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, behavioral neuroscientists are discovering the neurological basis of synesthesia by comparing patients’ brains with those of healthy subjects. Do you know anyone who experiences synesthesia? If you had to attribute colors to certain numbers, what would…
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Making Sense of Sensory Information
Because seeing is so important for our functioning in the world, efforts to understand how perceptions are generated have most often focused on vision. Based on current research in cognitive neuroscience, this film explores the challenges of explaining visual perception. Can you think of some other real-world examples of visual misperception besides a barber poll?
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Cross Section of an Eyeball
This short clip consists of a cross-section diagram with eye structures labeled and corresponding narration. Structures such as the sclera, choroid, retina, ciliary body, and lens are defined and described. What part of the eye is described as having a smooth protective coat? What is the focusing mechanism of the eye?
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The Visual Mechanism
The visual system is described by a speaker using a simple cross section diagram from above. Structures such as the visual cortex, optic nerve, optic chiasm, and lateral geniculate bodies are defined and described. How is the optic nerve stimulated? If an image is viewed on the inner side of the eye, which visual cortex does the image go to? Which structure is…
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Exploring the Eye
A narrator explores the structures of the eye with a simple corresponding diagram. What divides the eye into two sections? Which parts of the eye are transparent, and why is that important?
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A Day in the Life of an M.C. Escher Drawing
In this comedic piece, Eschers famous print Ascending and Descending is featured. Two of the men walking the never-ending staircase carry on a conversation. One of the men offers the other a banana. As to be expected, one slips on the banana and continues falling down the stairs. How does M.C. Escher create an illusion of depth? What does this piece symbolize?
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