An Introduction to the Visual System

Building on the successful formula of the first edition, Martin Tovee offers a concise but detailed account of how the visual system is organised and functions to produce visual perception. He takes his readers from first principles; the structure and function of the eye and what happens when light enters, to how we see and process images, recognise patterns and faces, and through to the most recent discoveries in molecular genetics and brain imaging, and how they have uncovered a host of new advances in our understanding of how visual information is processed within the brain. Incorporating new material throughout, including almost 50 new images, every chapter has been updated to include the latest research, and culminates in helpful key points, which summarise the lessons learnt. This book is an invaluable course text for students within the fields of psychology, neuroscience, biology and physiology.

Contents

• 1. Introduction;
• 2. The eye and forming the image;
• 3. Retinal colour vision;
• 4. The organisation of the visual system;
• 5. Primary visual cortex;
• 6. Visual development - an activity-dependent process;
• 7. Colour constancy;
• 8. Object perception and recognition;
• 9. Face recognition and interpretation;
• 10. Motion perception;
• 11. Brain and space;
• 12. What is perception?