Purkinje's vision : the dawning of neuroscience / by Nicholas J. Wade and Josef Brožek, in collaboration with Jiří Hoskovec.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wade, Nicholas.

Contributor:

Brožek, Josef.

Hoskovec, Jiří.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Purkyně, Jan Evangelista, 1787-1869.

Purkyně, Jan Evangelista.

Neuroscientists--Biography.

Neuroscientists.

Vision--Research--History.

Vision.

Vision--Research.

History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 159 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Mahwah, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001.

Summary:

This book is a study of one of the pioneers of neuroscience, Purkinje, who was a polymath of some stature in the Czech/German scientific community in the 19th century. He made a number of influential discoveries, but none of them as interesting as his earliest enquiries into vision. Vision and perception studies are very important in psychology, and this book will be appealing both for its scientific content and its historical information.

Contents:

Vision 3

Accommodation 5

Strabismus 10

Direct and Indirect Vision 11

Purkinje Shift 13

Motion Aftereffects 14

Vertigo 15

Neuroscience 23

Psychology 26

2 Biographical and Bibliographical Notes 29

Early life 29

Purkinje's Views of Psychology 33

Psychological Contributions During the Breslau Years 33

Objective Psychology 35

Return to Prague 36

Additional Contributions 37

Opera Omnia 37

3 Historical Background for Research in Subjective Visual Phenomena 41

Light and Shade Figures (I) 42

Pressure Figures (II, III, and XXII) 44

Galvanic Light Phenomena (IV) 46

Intrinsic Light and Ganzfeld Effects (V and VII) 47

Interocular Light Effects (VI) 47

Blind Spot (VIII, X, and XI) 48

Pattern Disappearances With Steady Fixation Outside the Blind Spot (IX) 49

Light Halos (XII) 50

Retinal Blood Vessels (The Purkinje Tree) (XIII) 50

Afterimages and Visual Persistence (XIV) 51

Pattern Distortions (XV-XVII) 55

Voluntary Movement of the Pupil (XVIII) 56

Entoptic Phenomena (XIX-XXI and XXIII) 57

Firey Rings (XXIV) 58

Single and Double Vision (XXV) 58

Staring Vaguely into the Distance (XXVI) 59

Eye Movements (XXVII) 60

Imagination and Memory Images (XXVIII) 62

4 Observations and Experiments on the Physiology of the Senses. Contributions to the Knowledge of Vision in Its Subjective Aspect 65

I. Light and Shade Figures 68

II. Pressure Figures 71

III. Appearance of the Previous Figure under Other Conditions. Clarification Experiment 74

IV. Galvanic Light Figures 77

V. Wandering Cloudy Stripes 79

VI. A Light Phenomenon in the Dark Field of My Right Eye During Increased Activity of the Left Eye 81

VII. Scintillating Light Points When Viewing a White Surface. Spontaneous Spots of Light in the Visual Field 82

VIII. The Place of Entry of the Optic Nerve 82

IX. Disappearance of Objects Outside the Entry of the Optic Nerve 84

X. The Entry Point of the Optic Nerve Visible as a Luminous Circle 85

XI. Appearance of Light at the Entry of the Optic Nerve 86

XII. Halos 87

XIII. Vascular Patterns of the Eye 87

XIV. Afterimages 88

XV. Cloudy Streaks While Viewing Parallel Lines 92

XVI. Zigzag Scintillations Following Observation of Parallel Lines 94

XVII. Changes of Parallel Straight Lines into Wavy Lines 94

XVIII. Voluntary Movement of the Pupil 95

XIX. A Spot in the Middle of the Visual Field During Strenuous Near Fixation 95

XX. Visibility of Blood Circulation in the Eye 96

XXI. Flying Gnats 96

XXII. Curvilinear Star Pattern 98

XXIII. A Pulsating Figure 99

XXIV. Luminous Rings 100

XXV. Unity of the Two Visual Fields. Double Vision 102

XXVI. Staring Vaguely into the Distance 104

XXVII. Eye Movements 105

XXVIII. Persisting Images, Imagination, and Visual Memory 107

5 Assessment 111

Neuroscience 114

Vertigo 116

Vision 118.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 129-140) and indexes.

ISBN:

080583642X

OCLC:

45329134