Spring 2009

PSY 323P • Perceptual Systems: Neurons/Behavior/Evolution

Course Description

The perceptual systems (vision, hearing, touch, smell, etc) are the brain's window to the world. This lecture course present an introduction to perceptual system with an emphasis on perception in humans and non-human primates. In this course, students will learn about the physics of perceptual stimuli, the neural processing of perceptual information, the performance of humans (and other primates) in perceptual tasks, and the evolution of perceptual systems.

Grading Policy

Students will be evaluated on the basis of their performance on exams (MC & short-answer), homework problems and a research paper. The exams and homework will constitute 3/4 of the final grade and the research paper 1/4 of the final grade.

Texts

Blake, R. & Sekuler, R. (2005) Perception 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Other course materials (including all the lecture materials) will be available online.