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課程
我們正處於神經科學領域空前未有的時代，我們可以觀察大腦看東西、思考、做決定、閱讀及記憶時的運作情形。藉由最近發展出的功能性核磁共振造影技術，我們可以監看正常人類大腦中局部神經的活動，而這項技術不會對人體造成侵害但卻有極佳的空間解析度。許多關於人腦基本與很難瞭解的問題，如今可直接應用這項新科技獲得解答。在高階視覺領域，也就是我們如何解釋以及如何使用視覺訊息方面（包含了物體辨識、視覺注意力、知覺意識、藉由視覺導引的動作、視覺記憶力以及其它的主題），這項應用尤其確切。
這門課的目標在於幫助同學成為理解當今神經造影文獻並能對其嚴格評判的讀者，同時瞭解這項技術的優劣，且經由理論的引發，能自行設計出尖端的實驗。同學將會研讀當今跟神經造影有關的文章，然後在課程上報告及評析，同時也將撰寫自己實驗的詳細提案。授課範圍將會涵蓋高階視覺中部分重要領域的理論背景，包含視覺辨認和視覺注意力，同時將概要地解說功能性核磁共振造影這項技術在各項主題下告訴了我們什麼以及未來可以告訴我們什麼。教師授課和課堂討論也會含括功能性核磁共振造影的方法和實驗設計。因此，我們要求同學需先修過統計課以及至少一門的知覺或認知課程。
授課時間
每週一次三小時的課
教科書
Farah, M. 《視覺的認知神經科學》(The Cognitive Neuroscience of Vision) Blackwell Publishers, 2000.
課程需求/暫時的評分比重表
期中考 (25%)
課堂報告 (15%)
書面的文章評判 (15%)
課堂參與 (5%)
學期作業 (40%)
若課堂人數不多，同學可能需作兩次的課堂報告。
The Course
We are now at an unprecedented period in the field of neuroscience: We can watch the human brain in action as it sees, thinks, decides, reads, and remembers. Using the recently-developed technique of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), local neural activity can be monitored in the normal human brain in a noninvasive fashion and with good spatial resolution. A large number of far-reaching and fundamental questions about the human brain can now be answered using straightforward applications of this new technology. This is particularly true in the area of high-level vision, the study of how we interpret and use visual information (including object recognition, visual attention, perceptual awareness, visually guided action, visual memory, and other topics).
The goals of this course are to help students to become savvy and critical readers of the current neuroimaging literature, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the technique, and to design their own cutting-edge, theoretically motivated studies. Students will read, present to the class, and critique current neuroimaging articles, as well as write detailed proposals for experiments of their own. Lectures will cover theoretical background on some of the major areas in high-level vision, including visual recognition and attention, as well as an overview of what fMRI has taught us and can in future teach us about each of these topics. Lectures and discussions will also cover fMRI methods and experimental design. A prior course in statistics and at least one course in perception or cognition are required.
Meeting Times
One three-hour session per week
Course Textbook
Farah, M. The Cognitive Neuroscience of Vision. Blackwell Publishers, 2000.
Course Requirements / Tentative Grading Breakdown
Midterm exam (25%)
Class presentation (15%)
Written paper critique (15%)
Class participation (5%)
Term paper (40%)
If the class is very small, two class presentations may be required.
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