STRUCTURE, FUNCTION & DEVELOPMENT OF THE VISUAL SYSTEM
July 1 - 14, 2009
Application Deadline: April 10, 2009

Instructors:
Martin Usrey, University of California, Davis
Barbara Chapman, University of California, Davis

This lecture/discussion course will explore the functional organization and development of the visual system as revealed by the use of a variety of anatomical, physiological and behavioral methods. It is designed for graduate students and more advanced researchers who wish to gain a basic understanding of the biological basis for vision and to share in the excitement of the latest developments in this field. Topics will include: phototransduction and neural processing in the retina; functional architecture of striate cortex; cellular basis of cortical receptive field properties; the anatomy, physiology and perceptual significance of parallel pathways; functional parcellation of extrastriate cortex; the role of patterned neuronal activity in the development of central visual pathways; and molecular mechanisms of development and plasticity in the visual system.

Speakers in the last course included:
Katja Brose, Neuron - Cell Press
EJ Chichilnisky, The Salk Institute
Dennis Dacey, University of Washington, Seattle
James DiCarlo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marla Feller, University of California, Berkeley
David Fitzpatrick, Duke University
William Guido, Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael Hawken, New York University
Judith Hirsch, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Nancy Kanwisher, MIT
Richard Krauzlis, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Tirin Moore, Stanford University
J. Anthony Movshon, New York University
Jay Neitz, Medical College of Wisconsin
Michael Oberdorfer, National Eye Institute/NIH
Tatiana Pasternak, University of Rochester Medical Center
Clay Reid, Harvard Medical School
Edward Ruthazer, McGill University
Michael Shadlen, University of Washington
S. Murray Sherman, The University of Chicago
Michael Steinmetz, National Institutes of Health
Leland Stone, NASA Ames Research Center
David Williams, University of Rochester

The course will be held at the Laboratory’s Banbury Conference Center located on the north shore of Long Island. All participants stay within walking distance of the Center, close to tennis court, pool and private beach.

This course is supported with funds provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute