Greg Detre
Sunday, 31 March, 2002
What neural
mechanisms are involved in learning to use vision to recognise novel objects?
How do these mechanisms differ from those involved in preparing to grasp an
object? (2001)
Discuss critically
the role of the parietal cortex in spatial localization, eye movements and
reaching. (2001)
One of Hubel and
Wiesel�s original definitions of a simple cell was that its receptive field
predicts its optimal stimulus.� Is this
definition still valid? (2001)
Compare the retinal
and the cortical processing of colour and/or motion. (2001)
Critically evaluate
the evidence for and against the view that the striate cortex (V1) is the locus
for depth perception. (2001)
Describe and analyse the contribution of different cortical areas to the
visual processing of binocular stereopsis. (2000)
Describe and analyse the contribution of different cortical areas to the
visual processing of movement. (2000)
What functional significance can be attributed to the presence of
orientation selectivity in the primary visual cortex? (2000)
How are the visual pathways from retina to cortex organised to provide
high spatial acuity in primates? (2000)
Describe the relationship between the physiology and perception of
motion. (1999)
Describe the relationship between the physiology and perception of
depth. (1999)
Describe the methods used for classifying and investigating the
receptive fields of simple and complex cells. What advances in our
understanding of the underlying neuronal circuitry have been made since the
original work of Hubel & Wiesel in the 1960s? (1999)
A new species of South American primate is
identified which is reported to be fruit-eating, nocturnal, and easily dazzled
by bright light, but it can reputedly �see in the dark�. Devise a research
proposal to investigate THREE of the following aspects of its vision:
(i) spatial acuity;
(ii) colour vision;
(iii) ON and OFF pathways;
(iv) classes of retinal ganglion cell;
(v) visual optics. (1998)
Evaluate the contribution of the cortical area V1 to the processing of
binocular information. (1998)
�The [�] mistake is to suppose that there are only two pathways
emanating from V1� (Zeki, 1993). Discuss this comment in relation to parallel
pathways in vision. (1998)
How well do we
understand the brain pathways and mechanisms that control exploratory
eye-movements? (2001)
Discuss critically
the role of the parietal cortex in spatial localization, eye movements and
reaching. (2001)
Write an essay on the control of pursuit eye movements by the central
nervous system. (2000)
How are signals from the vestibular system processed to provide control
over the stabilisation of gaze? (2000)
Compare how the brain controls rapid movements of the eyes and of the
limbs? (1999)
Discuss the neural control of eye movements that mimic retinal image
slip during head and body motion. (1999)
Studies of oculomotor control have tended to be tightly-organised
experiments under laboratory conditions. Evaluate the successes and failures of
this approach in illuminating the control of eye movements under natural
viewing conditions. (1998)
Develop a research strategy for investigating how human observers might
track a moving auditory target. (1998)
How is a moving visual target acquired and tracked by human observers? (1998)
What neural
mechanisms are involved in learning to use vision to recognise novel objects?
How do these mechanisms differ from those involved in preparing to grasp an
object? (2001)
Discuss critically
the role of the parietal cortex in spatial localization, eye movements and
reaching. (2001)
What role is played
by the temporal patterning of neuronal activity in the central auditory system?
Where does the patterning originate and what are its limitations? (2001)
How does the
nervous system generate a rhythmic locomotor output? (2001)
Discuss the
representation of the body surface in somatosensory cortex. (2001)
What types of
experimental approach have made the greatest contribution to our understanding
of pain? (2001)
What do we know about plasticity in the adult somatosensory system and
what is its significance? (2000)
How does the central nervous system acquire and integrate sensory
information about the positions of our limbs? (2000)
What neural factors affect the painfulness of somatosensory stimuli? (2000)
What is the evidence that the sensorimotor cortex can �remap� after
damage or prolonged stimulation? What factors determine the scale of the
remapping? (1999)
How are texture and form processed in the somatosensory system? (1999)
Describe the involvement of dorsal horn circuitry in nociception. (1999)
What determines whether transmission in the nociceptive pathway is
suppressed (as in analgesia) or enhanced (as in hyperalgesia)? (1998)
What can the study of phantom limbs teach us about the representation of
the body image? (1998)
What stimuli would you choose for investigating the properties of
somatosensory neurones that process information from glabrous skin? Justify
your choice by reference to published studies. (1998)
What are the roles of the vestibular and proprioceptive systems in
maintaining balance and posture? (1998)
Assess the relative
contributions of different parts of the auditory system in sound localisation.
(2001)
Are central auditory neurons sensitive to dynamically changing stimuli?
What neural coding processes have been proposed to account for such
sensitivity? (2000)
With reference to experimental studies, explain how a person who is deaf
in one ear might localise sounds in space. (2000)
What are the relative contributions of time and place codes in the
peripheral auditory system to the perception of complex sounds? (1999)
How relevant are
studies of auditory localisation mechanisms in birds to understanding auditory
localisation in man? (1999)
What is the �dynamic range problem� in auditory nerve fibres and how
might it be resolved by the auditory nervous system? (1998)
How well can we understand the mechanisms of sound localization by
studying the physiology of neurones at specific locations in the auditory
pathways? (1998)
What is the
evidence that the cerebellum plays an important role in motor adaptation?
(2001)
To what extent have studies in animals helped us to understand the
normal function and neurological disorders of the cerebellum? (1998)
To what extent have studies in animals helped us to understand the
normal function and neurological disorders of the cerebellum? (1998)
To what extent have studies in animals helped us to understand the
normal function and neurological disorders of the basal ganglia? (1998)
Discuss critically
the role of the parietal cortex in spatial localization, eye movements and
reaching. (2001)
What is the
evidence that the cerebellum plays an important role in motor adaptation?
(2001)
Discuss critically
the role of the parietal cortex in spatial localization, eye movements and
reaching. (2001)
How well do we
understand the brain pathways and mechanisms that control exploratory
eye-movements? (2001)
How does the
nervous system generate a rhythmic locomotor output? (2001)
To what extent have
studies of patients with diseases of the basal ganglia shed light on their
function? (2001)
To what extent are
the studies of Evarts and of Georgopoulos on the properties of primary motor
cortical neurons in conflict? (2001)
Compare and contrast the functional roles of motor cortical areas in the
mammalian brain. (2000)
What is the evidence that the cerebellum forms internal models of
sensorimotor systems to optimise motor control? (2000)
What may be learnt about human locomotion from the study of non-human
systems? (2000)
If you were directing research, would you authorise the expenditure of
more effort on the understanding of spinal reflexes at this stage? Give reasons
for your answer. (2000)
Lesions of the medial pallidum alleviate Parkinsonian akinesia but not
tremor, whereas lesions of the ventrolateral thalamus alleviate the tremor but
not the akinesia. Why? (1999)
What is the evidence that the basal ganglia select and orchestrate motor
programmes? (1999)
What is represented in the motor cortex? (1999)
What is the evidence that the cerebellum calibrates other motor
pathways? (1999)
What is the evidence that the sensorimotor cortex can �remap� after
damage or prolonged stimulation? What factors determine the scale of the
remapping? (1999)
Compare how the brain controls rapid movements of the eyes and of the
limbs? (1999)
What scientific challenges remain in the study of spinal reflexes? (1999)
How has the study of �simple� nervous systems contributed to our
understanding of locomotion in mammals? (1999)
What aspects of motor behaviour can be explained by the idea of a motor
programme? (1998)
To what extent have studies in animals helped us to understand the
normal function and neurological disorders of the basal ganglia? (1998)
What are the relations between the supplementary, premotor, and motor
cortical areas. (1998)
What are the roles of the vestibular and proprioceptive systems in
maintaining balance and posture? (1998)
What scientific challenges remain in the study of spinal reflexes? (1999)
What strategies
have been adopted to study attention at the neurophysiological level? (2001)
To what extent does
diversity of functional channels in the sensory periphery predict or constrain
central processing? (2001)
What is the significance of multiple cortical representations of a given
sensory surface? Illustrate your answer with examples from more than one
modality. (1999)
photocopy most of PoNS vision stuff (and maybe pain, auditory + somatosensory)
look at essays, notes + tutorial stuff
have a look at zeki
have a look at gazzaniga
meet paul
look at computational models (esp. of vision), neural coding
start to compile references
neuro2 topics
sat� sound localisation
sun touch
sat�������� somatosensory plasticity
������ parietal
fri��������� allocentric, egocentric etc.
fri�� stereopsis + depth???
thur����� early visual stuff
fri�� auditory pathways
fri�� parallel visual pathways
������ eye movements???
������ reaching???
sat� pain???
������ motion???
������ colour - no