Sensory Neuroscience Through Illusions

Undergraduate

Animals use sensory systems to obtain and process information about the environment around them. Sensory illusions occur when our sensory systems provide us with surprising or unexpected percepts of the world. The goal of this course is to introduce students to sensory neuroscience at the levels of sensor physiology and of the neural circuits that process information from sensors. The course is centered around sensory illusions, which are special cases of sensory processing that can be especially illustrative, as well as delightful. These special cases are used to learn about the general principles that organize sensation across modalities and species. Prerequisites: BIOL 101-104; NSCI 160 or NSCI 320 or permission of instructor. SC MW 1:05pm-2:20pm