Courses

Proseminar Series

A series of introductory vision science courses offered over a one-year period for first-year students. These courses serve two functions: (1) to provide students with a basic understanding of vision science, and (2) to prepare students for advanced vision science courses.

All courses involve two 90-minute sessions of direct class contact, typically in lecture format, plus library assignments each week for five weeks. Prerequisites: Vision Science graduate student status or consent of instructor in charge.

Note: The Fall Proseminar series will be taught in this order: VS212 A, D, B.

212A. Optics and Dioptrics of the Eye. (Fall; 2)
Introduction to basic principles of classic and modern geometric optics (thick lens systems, mirrors, prisms, apertures, and stops) and physical optics (interference, diffraction and polarization) with emphasis on dioptrics of the human eye (including schematic eyes, aberrations, and entoptic phenomena).

212B. Visual Neurophysiology and Development. (Fall; 2)
Introduction to visual neurophysiology. Visual pathways will be considered from retina to lateral geniculate to visual cortex. Basic organization at each stage will be covered. Primary focus will be studies of receptive field characteristics and associated visual function. Development and plasticity of the same visual pathways will also be explored from controlled rearing procedures and studies of abnormal visual exposure.

212D. Anatomy and Vegetative Physiology of the Eye. (Spring; 2)
Introduction to a general survey of the orbit, anterior and posterior segment of the eye, extraocular muscles, and neuroanatomy of the eye. Vegetative physiology of the cornea and tear film, aqueous humor, crystalline lens, vitreous humor, epithelial tissue (iris, ciliary body and retina), and photochemistry. This course is conducted in a problem-based format.

212E. Color Vision and Visual Sensitivity. (Spring; 2)
Introduction to sensory aspects of light and color vision, including psycho-physical methods, spectral response of the eye, mechanisms of sensitivity control, dark adaptation, color discrimination, and mechanisms of normal and defective color vision.

212F. Spatial and Binocular Vision, Eye Movements and Motion Perception. (Spring; 2)
Introduction to human spatial vision, including contrast sensitivity, visual acuity, and spatial localization. Introduction to eye movements, motion perception and motor and sensory aspects of binocular vision including pursuit, vergence, and saccadic eye movements, accommodation, stereopsis, and binocular space perception. Perception of real and apparent motion.

212G. Molecular Genetics of Vertebrate Eye Development and Diseases. Spring; 2)
Introduction to the molecular basis of vertebrate eye development and related disease. This course will cover some of the basic principles of molecular and cell biology, commonly used techniques and experimental approaches, as well as the biological mechanisms for vertebrate eye development and related eye diseases. Recent progress in identifying important ocular genes and the approaches used to identify them will be discussed.

Other Required Seminars

201A. Survey of Laboratories (Fall; 2)
One 2-hour seminar per week in which students are presented with an overview of research opportunities within Vision Science.

201B. Student Evening Research Seminar (Spring; 2)
One 2-hour seminar per week in which Vision Science students to report on their research and rotation activities.

230. Ethics in Scientific Research. (2)
Ten 3-hour seminars per semester. This seminar will examine a range of ethical issues that arise in the process of doing science. Beginning with the philosophical and social foundations, we will consider the pathogenesis of fraud, statistics and deception, the ethics of authorship and publication, research with human subjects, the use of animals, the definition(s) of misconduct and the difference between misconduct and questionable research practices, the relationship between industry and science, and, finally, the responsibilities and obligations of the scientist in society.

298. Group Studies, Seminars, or Group Research. (Fall, Spring; 1-6)
One to four hours of lecture per week. Group studies of selected topics. Advanced studies in various subjects through special seminars on topics to be selected each year, informal groups studying special problems, group participation in experimental problems and analysis.

Under separate sections, this course includes Oxyopia, a seminar series given by high-profile local and visiting researchers; and the Student Evening Research Seminar, which offers Vision Science students the opportunity to report on their research and rotation activities (see Goals and Format).

299. Research in Vision Science. (Fall, Spring; 1-12)
Hours per week vary. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Research. Covers research undertaken in home laboratory or host laboratory during rotations.

300. Teaching Methods in Vision Science. (Fall, Spring; 1)
One hour of class every other week. Prerequisites: Graduate standing in vision science. Instruction in teaching methods and materials, in vision science and optometry, observation of classes in session; practice teaching in classrooms and laboratory. Can be taken more than once for credit.

Optional Courses in Vision Science

204. Optical Image Formation in the Eye. (Fall; 3)
Two 1-hour lectures and two 2-hour labs per week. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in vision science or consent of instructor. Lectures and laboratory demonstrations. Measurement of optical properties of simple and compound eyes. Image quality and resolution. Optometric instrumentation.

210. Instrumentation and Methodology in Vision Research. (Fall; 2)
One hour of lecture and four hours of lab per week. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of instructor. Basic concepts of radiometry, photometry, and colorimetry. Optical bench systems, video and oscilloscope stimulus generation and calibration. Neurophysiological and biophysical techniques for measurement of eye movements, pupil, accommodation, ERG, EOG, VEP, single unit activity. Psychophysical methodology, signal detection, computer control of stimuli, data acquisition and processing. Clinical assessment of ocular components; eye examination/function. Clinical trials. Offered every other year. Must be taken on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

216. Color Vision. (Spring; 2)
Two hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: Vision Science 212E or consent of instructor. Selected topics from color vision mechanisms, specification, and discrimination, psychophysics and neurophysiology of color processing. Color and brightness perception. Stiles two-color increment threshold measures, interaction of color and form, color vision anomalies.

218. Spatial Aspects of Vision. (Spring; 2)
Two hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: Vision Science 212F or consent of instructor. Selected topics from spatial perception: visual direction, egocentric and oculocentric localization. Pattern vision: feature detector and spatial frequency filter models, local and global frequency analysis, visual acuity and relation to contrast sensitivity. Spatial aspects of color vision.

220. Binocular Vision. (Spring; 2)
Two hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: Vision Science 219 or consent of instructor. Selected topics from stereopsis and binocular depth perception. Development of binocular vision, binocular interactions, binocular disparity, binocular space perception, and anomalies of binocular vision.

222. Application of Vision Psychophysics to Clinical Disorders. (Spring; 3)
Two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory or discussion per week. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Selected topics from: Non-invasive techniques in the study of retinal and choroidal disorders, cataract, corneal disease, glaucoma, strabismus, amblyopia, and various degrees of visual impairment; study of basic laboratory procedures which may be applied to allow identification of site(s) of anomaly in the visual pathways, enhance sensitivity in disease detection, and contribute to an understanding of the prognosis for eye disease. Offered every other year.

240. Biological and Perceptual Development. (Spring; 3)
Three hours of lecture per week. Survey of biology of development of the nervous system and of perceptual development, particularly vision.

252. Neurobiology of Visual Development. (Spring; 2)
Two hours of seminar per week. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Reading and critical discussion of neurobiological studies of developing mammalian visual systems. Evaluation of the role of innate and environmental factors in specifying the development of central visual pathways.

280. Computer Vision. (Fall; 3)
Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisites: Knowledge of linear algebra and calculus. Mathematics 1A-1B, 50A-50B or equivalent. Paradigms for computational vision. Relation to human visual perception. Mathematical techniques for representing and reasoning, with curves, surfaces and volumes. Illumination and reflectance models. Color perception. Image segmentation and aggregation. Methods for bottom-up three-dimensional shape recovery: Line drawing analysis, stereo, shading, motion, texture. Use of object models for prediction and recognition.

290A. Vision A: Quantitative, Perceptual, and Physiological Aspects. (Fall; 2)
Three hours of lecture per week for seven and one-half weeks. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. The course will present basic material on the retina and visual pathways, psychophysical measurements, visual sensitivity, color vision, and the estimation of disparity and motion. Introduction to front-end visual processing in mammalian visual system. Basic optics, anatomy and physiology of retina, lateral geniculate nucleus, and primary visual cortex. Psychophysics of color, light and dark adaptation, spatial contrast sensitivity, spatial resolution, spatiotemporal contrast sensitivity, motion and disparity measurement. Connections between psychophysics and physiology. Relevant modeling techniques such as linear systems, signal detection theory, and information theory will be introduced and applied. There will be an accompanying laboratory which the students can register for separately.

290B. Vision B: Quantitative, Perceptual, and Physiological Aspects. (Fall; 2)
Three hours of lecture per week for seven and one-half weeks. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. The course will present basic material on inferring 3D from visual information. This will include disparity, motion, texture, shading, and occlusion. Introduction to the psychophysics and mathematical analysis underlying the inference of 3D scene properties from 2D retinal images. Psychophysics of various cues to 3D shape and spatial layout such as texture, contour, shading, stereopsis, and structure from motion. Geometrical analysis of these cues. Probabilitic theory for optimal combination of cues and estimation of scene properties. Relevant physiology of V1, V2, V4, and higher areas.

290C. Vision C: Perceptual Organization. (Spring; 2)
Three hours of lecture per week for seven and one-half weeks. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. This course will cover "mid-level" visual processing, including the perception of objects, their properties, and the determination of part-whole structure from optical images. The approach will be interdisciplinary, including material from psychophysics, classical perceptual psychology, computational modeling, and neuroscience. Specific topics include perception of color, grouping, figure-ground organization, modal and amodal completion, and part-whole structure.

290D. Vision D: High-Level Vision. (Spring; 2)
Three hours of lecture per week for seven and one-half weeks. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. This course will cover "high-level" visual processing, including object recognition, visual attention, visual memory, visual imagery, and visual awareness. The approach will be interdisciplinary, including material from psychophysics, classical perceptual psychology, computational modeling and neurosciences.

290L. Vision Laboratory: Quantitative, Perceptual, and Physiological Aspects. (Fall; 1)
Course may be repeated for credit. One hour of laboratory per week for seven and one-half weeks. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Quantitative analysis of psychophysical properties of spatial, color, temporal and binocular vision, motion sensitivity and adaptation and their underlying physiological mechanisms.

Course Recommendations from Other Programs

Special Circumstance Courses in Vision Science

The units below are for students involved in either examination or thesis preparation at a level that does not permit other course-based or research-related activities:

601. Individual Study for Master's Students. (Fall, Spring; 1-6)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Individual study in consultation with the adviser in Vision Science. May not be used to meet either unit or residence requirements for a master's degree. Must be taken on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis.

602. Individual Study for Doctoral Students. (Fall, Spring; 1-6)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Individual study in consultation with the adviser in Vision Science; intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the PhD. May not be used for unit or residence requirements. Must be taken on a satisfactory / unsatisfactory basis.