Perception as Gateway to the World why are you here ? why do we ...

information processing paradigmcentral scientific approach:acquisition, processing, storage,recall of data in the human brain‘ informationprocessing paradigm ’if you can build a machineyou understand the underlying processeshistorical development of metaphorsR. Descartes (1644): hydraulic nervesC. Babbage (1832): cogwheel brainModern Neuroscience: IT (v. Neumann, 1958)15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 7some common concerns• perception/cognition/neuroscience is difficultwe are used to operate complex machines and understandthem - so why not looking at the brain in action ?• perception/cognition is not a real part of psychologyon the contrary - it is fundamental to other disciplines ofpsychology; it provides a solid basis for understanding issuesin social, personality, occupational, health psychology, etc...• perception/cognition/neuroscience is boringit tackles some of the most exciting questions of (wo)mankind:how do we think ? what constitutes the human mind ?15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 8the workings of a brainso is it difficult ?divide processing in small functional units (components):brain regions that are responsible for distinct operations1st motor area2nd motor area1st somatosensory area2nd somatosensory areapersonality&thinking2nd auditory areamotorsensory2nd visualarea1st visualareaAlbertus Magnus, 1260functional architectureimaging techniques >> advancefrom speculation to hard scientific evidence15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 93

… break …questions ?15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 13tools & resources• lectures ( > attendance recorded

the program (order, timing…)1 Introduction: Perception as Gateway to the World JMZ2 Visual Perception 1: Learning to Read the Neural Code SD3 Visual Perception 2: Illusions as Key to Reality JMZ4 Visual Perception 3: Traveling through space and time JMZ5 Auditory Perception: From Noise to Sound JMZ6 Touch, Taste and Smell: Basic but Hidden Senses ? JMZ7 Eye Movements in Perception SD8 Attentional Modulation of Perception GK9 Multi-sensory Integration SD10 Conceptual frameworks : Making Sense of the World JMZ15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 16why is reliable information vital ?we need to operate and navigate ina dangerous world“ … think bike … see/hear/smell the bike ! “we need ‘intelligence’ to understandthe world (‘make sense’)“… while a small number of old,abandoned chemical munitions have beendiscovered, ISG judges that Iraqunilaterally destroyed its undeclaredchemical weapons stockpile in 1991”sensory information processing is incessant and effortless: Data Mining15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 17when things go wrong: from the BBChave a look at some examples …http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/tv/humansenses/15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 186

perception = collecting informationinformation needs to be collected & sorted (processed)• what is relevant ?• what is urgent ?• what can be ignored ?bottleneck :channel capacity(l/min, bps)filter :channel tuning(size, frequency)basic ‘engineering’ concept: filtering15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 19how many senses do we have ?(input channels for Computer: informationcan be entered through keyboard, camera,microphone, modem, ...)Aristotle (384 –322 BC): animals must haveperception if they are to liveFIVE SENSES : sight, hearing, touch,smell, tastePLUS : temperature ? pain ? balance ?OTHER : magnetoreception ? electroception ? ultrasound ?‘sensory modalities’15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 20(modality) channel 1 : smellolfactory perception (L 6)is a very basic sensory systemwhich is often forgottenit helps us to find our waythrough a complex anddangerous world, and iscrucial for our well-being andemotional balanceolfactorybulbolfactoryreceptorsolfactorymucusnasalcavityolfactorytract15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 217

(modality) channel 2 : touchsomatosensory perception (L6)is essential for maintaining theintegrity of the body, forcontrolling movements, etc.phantom sensationsdemonstrate the hidden butcontinuous operation of thesomatosensory system - do youfeel the glasses on your nose?cortical representation:body maplipsgumsjawthumbeyenosefacetongueabdomenfingershandforearmelbowarmheadtrunkneckhipleglips15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 22(modality) channel 3 : hearingthe ear is the intelligentmicrophone of the brainit captures a wide range ofacoustic informationauditory perception (L 5)mediates : orientation,relaxation, stress,communicationpinnasoundtympanicmembraneoval windowmalleusincusstapesrhythmvestibularapperatuscochlear nervecochlealanguageemotion15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 23(modality) channel 4 : seeingvisual perception (L 2, 3, 4)is often regarded as the most important of the senses, because it isan immediate and very rich source of informationvisual fieldleft eyeoptic chiasmleft hemispherevisual fieldright eyeoptic nerveoptic tractLGNoptic radiationright hemisphereneural imagelarge channel capacity !!!• 100 millionreceptors per retina• 1 million nervefibres per eye• 30 brain areas• 20% of brain• 10 billion corticalneurons15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 248

summary• studying sensation & perception, together with cognitive psychology is partof a multidisciplinary attempt to study the human mind : how do we think ?• the central scientific paradigm is the information processing approach : thebrain is interpreted as a computer dealing with huge & complex data sets• perceptual processes are required as input for the neuronal machinery –which is absolutely crucial for a wide range of vital functions• perception is both a bottleneck reducing the amount information and afilter selecting relevant information - we speak of channels, tuning, capacityhttp://www.pc.rhul.ac.uk/staff/J.Zanker/PS1061/L1/PS1061_1.htmsee also Chapter 1 of Zanker 2010and Koch, Nature 411, 893 (June 2001)15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 25…questions???15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 26… have a nice rest-of-week!15/01/2014 PS1061 Sensation & Perception #1 JMZ 279