Teaching Plan Information

Presentation

The core of the course is the physiology of perception, which throughout the history of neuroscience has been a window to the brain. Once one starts to explore the roots of perception, a series  of fundamental philosophical questions emerge naturally. This is where we need to go back to the writings of the great thinkers of the past. Scientists and philosophers, natural philosophers of the scientific revolutions and the Enlightenment, were particularly concerned about the problem of how we ground knowledge, something that therein became one of the biggest, if not the biggest, questions in modern philosophy. The above leads to the interesting discussion about the confrontation between science and belief. The rules of perception also lead naturally to the rules of art, a connection that has been explored extensively by neuroscientists, and that converges with art scholars who have investigated the psychology of art perception. The physiology of vision illustrates the several “tricks” used by great painters to confuse our perception, to create illusions to convey convincible meaning. The goal of this part of the course is to pose the following question: “if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what is in the beholder’s eye?” We discuss the rules of art -les règles d’art, and the idea of artists as intuitive neuroscientists exploring the brain.

Associated skills

The goal is to understand the science of the brain as applied to the understanding of human beliefs, behaviour, and the perception of art.

Learning outcomes

1. Describe the basic elements of the brain: genes, neurons, synapses and circuits.
2. Describe the general principles of organization of the sensory systems and perception. Justify why perception is said to be a constructive process.
3. Describe the neural basis of vision and identify the mechanisms underlying visual illusions.
4. Apply neuroscientific knowledge to understand art perception and the rules of art.
5. Describe the neural basis of audition and identify the mechanisms underlying the perception of music.
6. Describe the evolutionary roots of perception and behavior.
7. Describe the interactions between genes and environment, and frame discussion on the nature vs. nurture question into current scientific knowledge. 

Sustainable Development Goals

• Ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being for everyone at all ages.
• Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• Achieve gender equality and empower all women.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Contents

1. Introduction to the course. The representation of the world and the sensory systems. The organization of sensory systems: parallel processing sensory receptors, brain localization, distortion, top-down and bottom–up processing.

2. The visual world: from the retina to the brain. Why we like line drawings?. Rods and cones. Retinal processing and contrast. The smile of the Mona Lisa. 

3. The visual areas in the brain. How do we identify objects? From neurons to ideas: feature extraction. The brain is kantian: brain categorisation, shape and objects. The case of  “face cells”.

4. Space and colour in the brain. Binocular and monocular cues for spatial reconstruction. From Fra Angélico to Sorolla: looking at the history of painting. Why they were so great. Baroque painting, Velázquez and the aerial perspective. 

Colour in our brains. Colour is more than the mixture, colour is context: Hering’s colour opponent theory. From medieval miniatures to Monet’s lily pads.

5. Neuroscience and Art. Beauty and meaning. The evolutionary history of the beauty and history of art. The evolutionary logos of aesthetic universals. Artists as intuitive neurologists. Is cubism a neurological fiasco?  

6 Bring your own Artwork session Students will produce a piece of art for a neuroscientific discussion.

7. General review and MT exam

8. Hearing The inner ear. The auditory brain. Auditory objects. Sound localisation: what we learn from owls and bats.

9. Music, hearing and brain: from hair cells of ecstasy. Musical scales and language. Beethoven and Rolling Stones, the masters of suspense. 

10. Perception and knowledge: Plato, “the allegory of the cave” and the Neurosciences. The limits of knowledge. Science and belief. The neurology of post-truth. Virtual reality.

11 Genes and culture The "critical periods" of postnatal development. Cerebral plasticity: interactions between the brain and the environment. The question of "nature and nurture" The question of "nature and nurture”. Chance and necessity.

12. General discussion and exam review

TERM PAPER AND CLASS PRESENTATIONS: THE "CHALK TALKS"  (see AG)

For the Chalk Talks, students will make an oral presentation to their classmates and teachers. Every student will select a topic from a proposed list, or they may propose their own related to the subjects of the course. Topic selection is on the basis of first to come, first served. The activity includes: 1) One page abstract of no more than one page, 550 words (Arial 10) containing the relevant information and up to three references. A figure may be included if appropriate. 2) A talk of 10 minutes + 5 minutes discussion. 3) The presentation will be on the blackboard, a so-called "chalk talk", Power-Point or other supports not allowed. The order of the presentations will be drawn.

ChT1 Student’s presentations

ChT 2 Student’s presentations

ChT 3 Student’s presentations

ChT 4 Student’s presentations

Teaching Methods

The course will be developed online using flipped-classroom type methodology, and combined with a set of short talks and seminars.

Seminars consist of problem solving, paper discussions and general discussions with invited speakers. Demonstrations include animations, data analysis, music listening and comments, and interactive materials.

“Bring your little artwork” is an exercise on creativity and analysis.

Evaluation

The assessment will be based on academic performance in the following tests, and on a scale from 0 to 10:

• 50%: Written test. There will be two written tests (short questions and problems), one for the first three blocks, lessons 1-6 (Mid Term Exam, MT), and a second one for the remaining two blocks, lessons 7-12. The final mark will be the average of the two exams. Each exam will be marked on a scale of 10. Note that those students who score 7.5 or above in the MT may decide not to take these lessons in the Final Test, although they will always be able to complete the Final Test to improve their grade
• 20%: Work in seminars. This will be evaluated during the activities of the seminars and discussion groups.
• 30%: Essay and paper presentation. Oral presentations, chalk-talks, will be held before the teaching staff who will evaluate it.

Requirements: To overcome the activity, the student must participate in scheduled activities and add up to 5 points (50%) or higher among the different activities mentioned above. However, note that the mark obtained in each of the written tests must be above 5 over 10 for allowing further consideration.

Criteria for the recovery process: Students that after the evaluation process have not passed the course, have the option of a recovery test in the month of July. This will be a written test (short questions & problems) on the lessons of the syllabus above. In no case the activity assessed during the teaching process can be recovered and the student will maintain qualification obtained during the course. Therefore, the final grade will correspond with results of the recovery test with the above mentioned requirements, plus the results of the continuous evaluation.

Bibliography and information resources

Main readings

- KANDEL, ER, SCHWARTZ JH, JESSEL, TM SIEGELBAUM SA AND HUNDSPETH, A.J. (2013) Principles of Neural Science. Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York, USA 

- VILIS, T (2020 The Physiology of the SensesTransformations for Perception and Action http://www.tutis.ca/Senses/index.htm

- SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCES Brain Facts: A primer on the brain and Nervous

System https://www.brainfacts.org/book

- STANFORD Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/

- GIRALDEZ, F. (2020) Teaching Neuroscience as a Liberal Art Front. Educ.

https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00158

Reading assignments, articles for seminars and "Chalk Talks" will be provided along the course.

Further reading

- PURVES, D., HEAD, A., HUETTEL SA, LABAR KS, PLATT ML WOLDORFF, MG (2013) Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience, Second Edition., Sinauer Ass. Inc. Publishers, USA 

- PURVES, D. et al Neuroscience, 2nd ed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10799/?term=neuroscience

- UTHealth (2014) Neuroscience Online. An electronic textbook for the Neurosciences,

University of Texas, Dept. Neurobiology and Anatomy http://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/

 -WOLFE, J.M., KLUENDER, K. & LEVI, D.M. (2015) Sensation & Perception, Fourth Edition.-Sinauer Ass. Inc. Publishers, USA

https://oup-arc.com/access/sensation-and-perception-5e-student-resources#tag_chapter-01

Teaching Plan Information

Presentation

The core of the course is the physiology of perception, which throughout the history of neuroscience has been a window to the brain. Once one starts to explore the roots of perception, a series  of fundamental philosophical questions emerge naturally. This is where we need to go back to the writings of the great thinkers of the past. Scientists and philosophers, natural philosophers of the scientific revolutions and the Enlightenment, were particularly concerned about the problem of how we ground knowledge, something that therein became one of the biggest, if not the biggest, questions in modern philosophy. The above leads to the interesting discussion about the confrontation between science and belief. The rules of perception also lead naturally to the rules of art, a connection that has been explored extensively by neuroscientists, and that converges with art scholars who have investigated the psychology of art perception. The physiology of vision illustrates the several “tricks” used by great painters to confuse our perception, to create illusions to convey convincible meaning. The goal of this part of the course is to pose the following question: “if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what is in the beholder’s eye?” We discuss the rules of art -les règles d’art, and the idea of artists as intuitive neuroscientists exploring the brain.

Associated skills

The goal is to understand the science of the brain as applied to the understanding of human beliefs, behaviour, and the perception of art.

Learning outcomes

1. Describe the basic elements of the brain: genes, neurons, synapses and circuits.
2. Describe the general principles of organization of the sensory systems and perception. Justify why perception is said to be a constructive process.
3. Describe the neural basis of vision and identify the mechanisms underlying visual illusions.
4. Apply neuroscientific knowledge to understand art perception and the rules of art.
5. Describe the neural basis of audition and identify the mechanisms underlying the perception of music.
6. Describe the evolutionary roots of perception and behavior.
7. Describe the interactions between genes and environment, and frame discussion on the nature vs. nurture question into current scientific knowledge. 

Sustainable Development Goals

• Ensuring a healthy life and promoting well-being for everyone at all ages.
• Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education, and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
• Achieve gender equality and empower all women.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Contents

1. Introduction to the course. The representation of the world and the sensory systems. The organization of sensory systems: parallel processing sensory receptors, brain localization, distortion, top-down and bottom–up processing.

2. The visual world: from the retina to the brain. Why we like line drawings?. Rods and cones. Retinal processing and contrast. The smile of the Mona Lisa. 

3. The visual areas in the brain. How do we identify objects? From neurons to ideas: feature extraction. The brain is kantian: brain categorisation, shape and objects. The case of  “face cells”.

4. Space and colour in the brain. Binocular and monocular cues for spatial reconstruction. From Fra Angélico to Sorolla: looking at the history of painting. Why they were so great. Baroque painting, Velázquez and the aerial perspective. 

Colour in our brains. Colour is more than the mixture, colour is context: Hering’s colour opponent theory. From medieval miniatures to Monet’s lily pads.

5. Neuroscience and Art. Beauty and meaning. The evolutionary history of the beauty and history of art. The evolutionary logos of aesthetic universals. Artists as intuitive neurologists. Is cubism a neurological fiasco?  

6 Bring your own Artwork session Students will produce a piece of art for a neuroscientific discussion.

7. General review and MT exam

8. Hearing The inner ear. The auditory brain. Auditory objects. Sound localisation: what we learn from owls and bats.

9. Music, hearing and brain: from hair cells of ecstasy. Musical scales and language. Beethoven and Rolling Stones, the masters of suspense. 

10. Perception and knowledge: Plato, “the allegory of the cave” and the Neurosciences. The limits of knowledge. Science and belief. The neurology of post-truth. Virtual reality.

11 Genes and culture The "critical periods" of postnatal development. Cerebral plasticity: interactions between the brain and the environment. The question of "nature and nurture" The question of "nature and nurture”. Chance and necessity.

12. General discussion and exam review

TERM PAPER AND CLASS PRESENTATIONS: THE "CHALK TALKS"  (see AG)

For the Chalk Talks, students will make an oral presentation to their classmates and teachers. Every student will select a topic from a proposed list, or they may propose their own related to the subjects of the course. Topic selection is on the basis of first to come, first served. The activity includes: 1) One page abstract of no more than one page, 550 words (Arial 10) containing the relevant information and up to three references. A figure may be included if appropriate. 2) A talk of 10 minutes + 5 minutes discussion. 3) The presentation will be on the blackboard, a so-called "chalk talk", Power-Point or other supports not allowed. The order of the presentations will be drawn.

ChT1 Student’s presentations

ChT 2 Student’s presentations

ChT 3 Student’s presentations

ChT 4 Student’s presentations

Teaching Methods

The course will be developed online using flipped-classroom type methodology, and combined with a set of short talks and seminars.

Seminars consist of problem solving, paper discussions and general discussions with invited speakers. Demonstrations include animations, data analysis, music listening and comments, and interactive materials.

“Bring your little artwork” is an exercise on creativity and analysis.

Evaluation

The assessment will be based on academic performance in the following tests, and on a scale from 0 to 10:

• 50%: Written test. There will be two written tests (short questions and problems), one for the first three blocks, lessons 1-6 (Mid Term Exam, MT), and a second one for the remaining two blocks, lessons 7-12. The final mark will be the average of the two exams. Each exam will be marked on a scale of 10. Note that those students who score 7.5 or above in the MT may decide not to take these lessons in the Final Test, although they will always be able to complete the Final Test to improve their grade
• 20%: Work in seminars. This will be evaluated during the activities of the seminars and discussion groups.
• 30%: Essay and paper presentation. Oral presentations, chalk-talks, will be held before the teaching staff who will evaluate it.

Requirements: To overcome the activity, the student must participate in scheduled activities and add up to 5 points (50%) or higher among the different activities mentioned above. However, note that the mark obtained in each of the written tests must be above 5 over 10 for allowing further consideration.

Criteria for the recovery process: Students that after the evaluation process have not passed the course, have the option of a recovery test in the month of July. This will be a written test (short questions & problems) on the lessons of the syllabus above. In no case the activity assessed during the teaching process can be recovered and the student will maintain qualification obtained during the course. Therefore, the final grade will correspond with results of the recovery test with the above mentioned requirements, plus the results of the continuous evaluation.

Bibliography and information resources

Main readings

- KANDEL, ER, SCHWARTZ JH, JESSEL, TM SIEGELBAUM SA AND HUNDSPETH, A.J. (2013) Principles of Neural Science. Fifth Edition. McGraw-Hill, New York, USA 

- VILIS, T (2020 The Physiology of the SensesTransformations for Perception and Action http://www.tutis.ca/Senses/index.htm

- SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCES Brain Facts: A primer on the brain and Nervous

System https://www.brainfacts.org/book

- STANFORD Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/

- GIRALDEZ, F. (2020) Teaching Neuroscience as a Liberal Art Front. Educ.

https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00158

Reading assignments, articles for seminars and "Chalk Talks" will be provided along the course.

Further reading

- PURVES, D., HEAD, A., HUETTEL SA, LABAR KS, PLATT ML WOLDORFF, MG (2013) Principles of Cognitive Neuroscience, Second Edition., Sinauer Ass. Inc. Publishers, USA 

- PURVES, D. et al Neuroscience, 2nd ed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10799/?term=neuroscience

- UTHealth (2014) Neuroscience Online. An electronic textbook for the Neurosciences,

University of Texas, Dept. Neurobiology and Anatomy http://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/

 -WOLFE, J.M., KLUENDER, K. & LEVI, D.M. (2015) Sensation & Perception, Fourth Edition.-Sinauer Ass. Inc. Publishers, USA

https://oup-arc.com/access/sensation-and-perception-5e-student-resources#tag_chapter-01