Semester.ly

Johns Hopkins University | AS.050.315

Cognitive Neuropsychology of Visual Perception: the Malfunctioning Visual Brain

3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

(4.33)

When we think about our ability to see, we tend to think about our eyes, but in fact vision happens mostly in the brain. This course explores the remarkable perceptual deficits that occur when the visual regions of the brain are damaged or fail to develop normally, focusing on what these perceptual malfunctions tell us about normal visual perception. Topics include visual system anatomy and physiology; functional specialization in the lower visual system as revealed by cerebral achromatopsia (color blindness resulting from brain damage) and akinetopsia (impaired motion perception); cortical plasticity in the visual system; spatial deficits in perception and action; and the implications of high-level visual deficits, including prosopagnosia (impaired face recognition), Charles Bonnet syndrome (complex visual hallucinations in blind areas of the visual field), blindsight (accurate responding to visual stimuli despite apparent inability to see them), and aphantasia (lack of visual imagery).

Spring 2014

(4.15)

Spring 2015

(4.52)

Spring 2014

Professor: Michael McCloskey

(4.15)

Many of the students enrol ed in this course enjoyed the interesting lectures from the professor. According to the students, the professor had a great sense of humor and he was engaging. In addition, one of the professor’s patients came to one of the classes to discuss his disorder, and many students found this helpful. A heavy amount of reading was required for this course, which was seen as tedious and dense by students. Also, the quizzes were often difficult and unfair because of how heavily they were weighted. Students suggested that readings be condensed and curving the classes’ grades would improve the quality of the course. Prospective students should make sure they are comfortable with large amounts of reading.

Spring 2015

Professor: Michael McCloskey

(4.52)

The best aspects of the course included the engaging and informative lectures as well as the interesting subject matter. Students enjoyed the readings, and appreciated that they were mostly available in a free e-book. While some students appreciated that the pop quizzes forced them to study, others thought they were stressful because they accounted for 30% of the final grade. Suggestions for improvement included reworking the quiz system and assigning more manageable readings for each class. Prospective students should know that it’s beneficial to have a background in neuropsychology and that they wil need to keep up with the readings to do wel in this class.