655-328 Visual Neuroscience

Students may only gain credit for one of 655-328 or 655-028 (prior to 2006).

Optometry 655-221 and 655-222.

This subject aims to provide students with a very sound neuroanatomical and neurophysiological knowledge base which will help them understand the structure-function relationships underlying sensory information processing with particular emphasis on the visual system.

The series of lectures begins with a brief revision of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that allow signal transmission among neurones and then leads the student to an understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie integrative processes of the brain ("systems neuroscience"), with particular reference to the visual system. The student will gain a detailed understanding of how visual information is first coded by anatomically distinct types of cells that carry functionally different types of information from the retina, and how later at further stages of the visual pathways, a meaningful integration of these inputs is enabled. The lectures will include a detailed account of the functional architecture of the visual cortex and neural mechanisms of visual attention, as well as an account of how our sense of balance and visual functions are related. The natural and abnormal development of the retino-striate pathways together with neural plasticity, both at molecular and systems levels, will also be covered in detail. The lectures will also show examples of how discoveries of basic neural mechanisms help in understanding of symptoms in neurological diseases and of some unusual perceptual phenomena. The subject should also prepare the student to engage in future developments of neuroscience in a laboratory or industry setting.

Upon completion of this subject students should:

• Develop the capacity for critical evaluation of complex issues;

• Develop problem-solving and communication skills; and

• Improve the capacity for seeking and evaluating relevant information.

Ongoing assessment of practical work during the semester (10%); two 30-minute written examinations held during semester (10%); a 3-hour written examination in the examination period (80%).

• E R Kandel, J H Schwartz, T M Jessell, Principles of Neural Science. 3rd edn, Appleton and Lange, 1991 (or later edition).