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Cognitive neuroscienceThe Neural Mind
Contents and reading path

Chapter 2

Sensation, Perception and Action

  1. 2.1How does the world become an experience?
  2. 2.2From stimulation to nerve signals
  3. 2.3Vision and visual perception
  4. 2.4Hearing and the direction of sound
  5. 2.5When the senses work together
  6. 2.6The cup in a noisy café
  7. 2.7How does a movement take shape?
  8. 2.8Prediction, feedback and learning
  9. LabThe visual lab

Perception and motor learning – in preparation

Reading path
Coming chapters (planned content)
  1. 1. Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
  2. 3. Attention
  3. 4. Memory and Learning
  4. 5. Language
  5. 6. Thinking and Executive Functions
  6. 7. Decision-Making
  7. 8. Emotion and Motivation
  8. 9. Social Cognition
  9. 10. Metacognition and Consciousness

Chapter 2

Reading paths

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Reading path

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Sensation and perception

Six sections on how sensory information becomes useful.

  1. 2.1 How does the world become an experience?

    Follow physical processes through the senses’ limited window to perception and action.

  2. 2.2 From stimulation to nerve signals

    Be able to describe transduction in the eye and ear, and distinguish receptor potentials from action potentials.

  3. 2.3 Vision and visual perception

    Follow the main route retina → LGN → V1, orientation, depth and colour – and understand ventral and dorsal processing as cooperating emphases.

  4. 2.4 Hearing and the direction of sound

    Explain tonotopy and how differences between the ears are used for localisation.

  5. 2.5 When the senses work together

    Understand that integration depends on whether the signals plausibly belong together.

  6. 2.6 The cup in a noisy café

    Combine the sections' concepts into a coherent account of perception and action.

Motor control

Three sections from perception and action to motor control and prediction.

  1. 2.6 The cup in a noisy café

    Combine the sections' concepts into a coherent account of perception and action.

  2. 2.7 How does a movement take shape?

    Relate proprioception and motor units to interacting motor networks.

  3. 2.8 Prediction, feedback and learning

    Distinguish available information, goal error and sensory prediction error, and correction from adaptation.

In preparation

  • Perception and motor learning. Integrated in-depth path within the same chapter. In preparation.