Vision science is the scientific study of
visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum reflecte ...
. Researchers in vision science can be called vision scientists, especially if their research spans some of the science's many disciplines.
Vision science encompasses all studies of vision, such as how
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
and
non-human
Non-human (also spelled nonhuman) is any entity displaying some, but not enough, human characteristics to be considered a human. The term has been used in a variety of contexts and may refer to objects that have been developed with human intelligen ...
organism
In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...
s process visual information, how conscious
visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum reflecte ...
works in humans, how to exploit visual
perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
for effective
communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
, and how artificial systems can do the same tasks. Vision science overlaps with or encompasses disciplines such as
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...
and
optometry
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
In the Uni ...
,
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
(s),
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
(particularly
sensation and perception psychology
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
,
cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, which ...
,
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
,
biopsychology,
psychophysics
Psychophysics quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce. Psychophysics has been described as "the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation" or, m ...
, and
neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...
),
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
(particularly
optics
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
),
ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
, and
computer science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
(particularly
computer vision
Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the hum ...
,
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
, and
computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
), as well as other engineering related areas such as
data visualization
Data and information visualization (data viz or info viz) is an interdisciplinary field that deals with the graphic representation of data and information. It is a particularly efficient way of communicating when the data or information is num ...
,
user interface design
User interface (UI) design or user interface engineering is the design of user interfaces for machines and software, such as computers, home appliances, mobile devices, and other electronic devices, with the focus on maximizing usability and the ...
, and
human factors and ergonomics
Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...
. Below is a list of pertinent journals and international conferences.
Journals
Scientific journals exclusively or predominantly concerned with vision science include:
*
''Investigative Ophthalmology & Vision Science (IOVS)''
*
''Ophthalmology''
* ''
JAMA Ophthalmology
''JAMA Ophthalmology'' (formerly ''Archives of Ophthalmology'') is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of ophthalmology. The editor-in-chief is Neil M. Bressler (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine). It is published by th ...
''
* ''
American Journal of Ophthalmology
''American Journal of Ophthalmology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering ophthalmology. It was established in 1884 and is published by Elsevier. The editor-in-chief is Richard K. Parrish II ( Bascom Palmer Eye Institute).
Indexing ...
''
* ''
British Journal of Ophthalmology
The ''British Journal of Ophthalmology'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of ophthalmology. The journal was established in 1917 by the amalgamation of the ''Royal London (Moorfields) Ophthalmic Hospital Reports'' with the ''O ...
''
* ''
Progress in Retinal and Eye Research''
* ''
Current Opinion in Ophthalmology''
* ''
Survey of Ophthalmology
''Survey of Ophthalmology'' is a review journal dedicated to publishing reviews of ophthalmological topics by established authorities in that particular field. It is a strictly refereed journal with a bi-monthly publication schedule. The procedure ...
''
* ''
Annual Review of Vision Science''
* ''
Journal of Vision
''Journal of Vision'' is an Open access (publishing), open access online scientific journal specializing in the neuroscience and psychology of the visual system. It publishes primary research from any discipline within the visual sciences. Submiss ...
''
* ''
Vision Research
''Vision Research'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal specializing in the neuroscience and psychology of the visual system of humans and other animals. The journal is abstracted and indexed in PubMed. The journal's impact factor
The impact ...
'' (including ''Clinical Vision Sciences'')
* ''
Perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
'' and
i-Perception'
*
Spatial Vision'
*
Attention Perception & Psychophysics' (previously ''Perception & Psychophysics'')
* ''
Journal of the Optical Society of America A''
* ''
Optometry and Vision Science
''Optometry and Vision Science'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins on behalf of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal was established in 1924 as the ''American Journal of Optometry''. ...
''
* ''Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO)''
* ''Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology''
Conferences
*
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (abbreviated ARVO) is an American learned society dedicated to ophthalmology and other vision-related topics. As of 2019, it has almost 12,000 members from 75 different countries. It was est ...
(ARVO)
*
American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) is a professional medical association of ophthalmologists. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its membership of 32,000 medical doctors includes more than 90 percent of practicing ...
(AAO) Annual Meeting
* European Conference on Visual Perception (ECV
* Annual Meeting of the Vision Sciences Society (VS
* Asia Pacific Conference on Vision (APV
See also
*
Brain
A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a v ...
*
Color constancy
Color constancy is an example of subjective constancy and a feature of the human color perception system which ensures that the perceived color of objects remains relatively constant under varying illumination conditions. A green apple f ...
*
Color vision
Color vision, a feature of visual perception, is an ability to perceive differences between light composed of different wavelengths (i.e., different spectral power distributions) independently of light intensity. Color perception is a part of ...
*
Computer vision
Computer vision is an interdisciplinary scientific field that deals with how computers can gain high-level understanding from digital images or videos. From the perspective of engineering, it seeks to understand and automate tasks that the hum ...
*
Eye
*
Linguistic relativity and the color naming debate
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
*
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...
*
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
*
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...
*
Optical illusion
Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...
s
*
Optometry
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
In the Uni ...
*
Primary colors
A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a br ...
*
Psychophysics
Psychophysics quantitatively investigates the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations and perceptions they produce. Psychophysics has been described as "the scientific study of the relation between stimulus and sensation" or, m ...
*
Visual cortex
The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus and ...
*
Visual neuroscience
Visual Neuroscience is a branch of neuroscience that focuses on the visual system of the human body, mainly located in the brain's visual cortex. The main goal of visual neuroscience is to understand how neural activity results in visual percepti ...
*
Visual system
The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (the a ...
References
* Palmer, S.E. (1999). ''Vision Science: Photons to Phenomenology''. MIT Press. .
External links
VisionScience– an Internet resource for research in human and animal vision.
Visiome Platform– digital research resource archive for vision science by the
Neuroinformatics
Neuroinformatics is the field that combines informatics and neuroscience. Neuroinformatics is related with neuroscience data and information processing by artificial neural networks. There are three main directions where neuroinformatics has to be ...
Japan Center
European Conference on Visual Perception– an international scientific conference on vision science
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Color
Interdisciplinary subfields
Vision