Tag Archives: vision

August 22

The Science of Sensitivity

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Insights from the Neuroscience of Highly Sensitive People I am driving home as the sun beams through the windshield and straight into my face. It’s beautiful: the orange glow of the golden hour sky, the demanding brightness seen through squinted eyes. But it also adds to my dread about the half-an-hour of incoming stop-and-go traffic. […]

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July 11

The World in 3D: A Glimpse Into Depth Perception

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We see the world around us in three dimensions. These dimensions can be described as different planes in physical space, extending from any central point in not only vertical and horizontal directions, but also in depth. By using our vision to assess how near or far something is from us, and interpreting objects in three-dimensional […]

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March 16

Eye Can’t Hear You

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If you had to choose between trusting your eyes, your ears, or your common sense, which would you choose? I made this choice not long ago when I was scrolling through instagram and came across a video that made me doubt my senses. I rewatched it 3 times thinking, “How is this even real?” It […]

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December 09

Mal de Débarquement: The Science of Land Sickness

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Recently I was lucky to spend seven days on a catamaran out at sea with a small group of (COVID-vaccinated) friends. We traveled around the Gulf of California, witnessing truly amazing sights like manta rays jumping out of the water, sea birds diving into the water, and turtles floating along in the swell. This was […]

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June 17

How Neuroscience Tools Can Help Patients Regain Their Vision

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Biomedical scientists, including many neuroscientists, often get into the scientific research game with the goal of seeing a future in which their work can directly impact human health and wellbeing. There is often a disconnect, however, between the long hours in the lab working with cells, rodents, or computers and the eventual future applications of […]

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September 12

Your Mind on Trial

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The British television series Black Mirror has, at times, been disturbingly prophetic. In season 2’s The Waldo Moment, a crude comedian runs for Parliament to disparage the system only to find himself a front-runner. In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who had previously played the role of Ukranian President on a popular TV show, […]

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July 25

In a world of “blind imagination”: The science of Aphantasia

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[En Español] Picture yourself in your childhood home. Imagine your bedroom – your bed, perhaps some posters on the wall, and whatever other salient features you can conjure with your mind’s eye.  Do you see yourself in it, or are you seeing it as though through your own eyes…or do you not “see” anything at […]

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January 19

Through the Looking-Glass, and What the Brain Sees There

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  She complained of recurrent attacks during which she feels that her body is growing larger and larger until it seems to occupy the whole room. “I feel,” she said, “that I have got so big that if I put out my hand I could touch the far wall.’ Less frequently, she feels that she […]

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September 30

To See, but not to See

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In 2008, a man shocked researchers when he successfully walked through a hallway cluttered with boxes, trash cans, and other junk without stumbling into anything. That may not seem terribly impressive (particularly if you’re used to navigating through a messy bedroom every night), but here’s the catch: that man was blind. That man, known as […]

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March 17

We Are All Actually in the Matrix

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I’m not kidding: you, me, and everyone else are actually in the matrix. But it’s not quite the same matrix as in the movie “The Matrix.” We are (probably) not being grown and harvested by robots who (somewhat inexplicably) have chosen to use us as a power source.

No, I’m talking about your brain. Your brain is your own personal matrix. It enables your consciousness, your sensations, your positive and negative feelings.

It lies to you. All the time.

Let me show you.

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