The First Half Second – The Microgenesis and Temporal Dynamics of Unconscious and Conscious Visual Processes (The MIT Press) - Softcover

Ögmen, Haluk; Breitmeyer, Bruno

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262651076 ISBN 13: 9780262651073

Publisher: MIT Press, 2006

Synopsis

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About this title

Synopsis

Empirical and theoretical foundations for the study of the temporal dynamics of mechanisms contributing to unconscious and conscious processing of visual information; from computational, psychological, neuropsychological, and neurophysiological perspectives. Recent advances in the study of visual cognition and consciousness have dealt primarily with steady-state properties of visual processing, with little attention to its dynamic aspects. The First Half Second brings together for the first time the latest research on the dynamics of conscious and unconscious processing of visual information, examining the time-course of visual processes from the moment a stimulus is presented until it registers in a behavioural response or in consciousness a few hundred milliseconds later. The contributors analyse this "first half second" of visual processing--known as its microgenesis - from a variety of perspectives, including neuroscience, neuropsychology, psychophysics, psychology, and neural network modelling. The book first treats conceptual, methodological, and historical issues and provides an integrated review of findings from recent studies on the neural underpinnings of consciousness.

The book then turns to neurophysiological correlates of dynamic processing in vision, highlighting the temporal dimension of functional distinctions; visual masking and what it can tell us about the operation of both normal and abnormal brains; the dynamics of attentional mechanisms from electrophysiological, behavioural, and modelling perspectives; and temporal characteristics of object and feature perception. Finally, drawing on the foundations laid in earlier chapters, the book elaborates further on the dynamic relation of conscious and unconscious processes in vision. The First Half Second tills the need for an interdisciplinary dialogue on the study of the dynamic aspects of visual processing and, with its rich empirical and theoretical findings, charts promising directions for future research.

About the Author

Haluk OEgmen is Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston, and a member of the University of Houston Center for Neuro-Engineering and Cognitive Science. Bruno G. Breitmeyer is Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Houston and a member of the University of Houston Center for Neuro-Engineering and Cognitive Science.

Edition details

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0262651076
• ISBN 13: 9780262651073
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 452