Course Description
BIOL 5136 3.0/PSY 6750 3.0P Cr=3.0
PERCEPTION AND ACTION
This course looks at some of the biological and neurophysiological principles that underlie the representation of the spatial world and the sensory and motor processes with which we interact with the world. Specific examples of the realization of general principles are drawn from how we know about and control our own movements, including control of eye and head movements, reaching and pointing and locomotion and navigation. The course considers how various senses are transduced, coded, centrally represented and eventually converted into action.
Instructor:
Dr. Laurence Harris
003J CSB
Ext. 66108
e-mail:harris@yorku.ca
Purpose: This course looks at sensory and motor processes related to the representation of and interaction with the spatial layout of the world. How is sensory information coded for perception and to guide action? Is it the case that sensory information is processed differently depending what it is going to be used for? No prior biological or mathematical knowledge is assumed.
Course Format: The course will take the form of a weekly interactive seminar meeting. In the second half of the course students will give presentations. Some written assignments (max 2) may be set during the course and a long essay (on the topic of each student’s presentation) will be required.
Pre-requisites: None
Basis of Evaluation: Evaluation will be by up to three items of course work submitted throughout the
course and a long essay and an accompanying presentation at the end of the course and on participation in class. There will be no timed exam.
Course work: 30%
Long essay and accompanying presentation: 55%
Participation in class: 15%
Textbook: None
Readings: Will be from original sources and review chapters & articles. A more detailed reading list will be constructed from relevant new literature from Journals available in the York Library system. The list will include (York call numbers included):
• Harris LR (1994) Visual motion caused by movements of the eye, head and body. in Visual Detection of Motion. Smith AT, Snowden R (Eds). Academic Press, London pp 397-436 (BF 245 V57 1994)
• “The Visual Brain in Action” (2006) by David Milner and Melvyn Goodale (OUP) (QP 383.15 M55 2006)
• “Sight unseen: an exploration of conscious and unconscious vision” (2004) by Melvyn Goodale and David Milner OUP (BF 241 G65 2004)
• “Spatial cognition, spatial perception: mapping the self and space” (2010) Francine Dolins, Robert Mitchell, CUP (BF 469 S63 2010)
• “Embodiment, ego-space and action” (2008) Roberta Klatzky, Brian MacWhinney and Marlene Behrmann, Psychology Press (BF 697 C278 2006)
• Selected chapters from “Principles of Neural Science” (2013) by Eric Kandel, James Schwatrz and Thomas Jessell (QP 355.2 P76 2013)