This document provides a historical survey of the field of vision science from the 19th century through the late 20th century. It outlines the major developments in understanding vision from early empiricist and structuralist approaches, to behaviorism, neurophysiology experiments identifying receptive fields in the retina and visual cortex, computational models proposed by Marr, and the rise of neuroimaging. The survey concludes that while huge progress has been made, future work should take a more holistic approach to fully understand visual perception.

1. Computational Vision
Vision Fin De Siècle
A Reductionistic Explanation of Perception
for the 21st Century?
Ken Nakayama
Cristina Zaga - Graphic Editing - Content Curation - 1°
Presentation
Minh Lê Ngọc - 2° part Presentation
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2. Computational Vision
Ken Nakayama
Professor of Psychology - Harvard
University
How do we see?
What is it about our
brain and its neural
activity allows us to
see so much and so
effortlessly?
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3. Computational Vision
This paper (1998) is a
historical survey of vision
over the past hundred
years, till the
contemporary
Diachronic approach on
20th Century Vision
Proceedings till how
researcher find
themselves at the
century end
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4. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline
Antecedents
1912 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1982 1990 till end of century
GESTALT BEHAVIORISM NEUROPHYSIOL MARR NEUROIMAGING
HUBEL WIESEL
OGIST NEUROPHYCOLOGY
GESTALT REBIRTH
REVOLUTION END OF CENTURY
19TH expanded domain of vision The future of vision?
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5. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline - Antecedents 19th century
Empirist Nativist
Sensation and vision as In born characteristics of the
VISION
a consequence of organism developing more or
PERCEPTION
learned associations of less independent of experience
elementary sensation
Structuralist
Conscious experience can be
broken down into basic conscious
elements witch can be cataloged
with introspection
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6. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Gestalt 1912
Autonomous law of
perception not determined by
association acquired through
experience
Revolution: Wertherimer’s phi Handle the organizational
“Perception of motion” aspects of vision: explanation
of relation between individual
“One simply could not analyze
Ignored the possible stimuli can play a role
percetion into its elementary
role of neuronal
sensation”
connection
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7. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Behaviourism 1919-1940
It was concerned exclusively with measurable and
observable data and excluded ideas, emotions, and
the consideration of inner mental experience and
activity in general. the organism is seen as
responding to stimuli set by the outer environment
and by inner biological processes.
Hulls(1943) Hebb(1949)
Postulate afferent neural The organization of Behavior
interaction to account Articulate the complementary strengh
tendency to respond to of the earlier Gestal theory and the
Gestalt relations behavioral methods
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8. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Neurophysiologist 1950’s
Microelectrode
Kuffler&Barlow (1953) Lettvin,Maturama,McCulloch
It recorded neuronal
Show on&off response , Pits (1959)
impulses
caused by light falling on Outline properties of cells in
It allows to eavedrop
the different area of the the frogs retina
neurons during visual
retina
stimulation
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9. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Neurophysiologist 1959 - 62
Hubel and Wiesel
Single unit recording- TAXONOMY
Information Processing in the
Visual Sistem They classify cells into
In primary visual cortex they discrete category of
found that cells required light ascending complexity
or dark region to be oriented
Hyper
Complex
Complex
Simple
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10. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Neurophysiologist 1959 - 62
Orientation selective and responded but only if the line did not spill
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Hyper over more distant retinal region.
Complex
Respond primarily to oriented edges and gratings, however it has a
Complex 2 degree of spatial invariance. This means that its receptive field cannot
be mapped into fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones
Summed the excitatory and inhibitory effect of light from differen
Simple 3
portion of receptive fields
Sensitive to
relations. Each
cells is triggered
by its own
preferred local
Gestalt.
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11. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Barlows 1972
Sensitivity of perception
results from the
5 DOGMAS NEURODOCTRINE
mechanisms determining
when a single cell becomes
active, rather than from To understand nervous function one needs to look at interactions
complex
at a cellular level
combinatorial rules of
usage of nerve cells.
The sensory system is organized to achieve
as complete a representation of the sensory
stimulus
as possible with the minimum number of
active neurons
Trigger features of sensory neurons are matched to
redundant patterns of stimulation by
experience as well as by developmental processes
Perception corresponds to the activity of a small selection from the very numerous
high-level
neurons
High impulse frequency in such neurons corresponds to high certainty that the
trigger feature is
present
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12. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Blackmore and Campbell 1969
Neurons Discovery Prove the existence of Provide: common metric
neurons in the visual method of stimuli description
systems selectively sensitive and an alternative to Hubel
to orientation and size of and Wiesel Conception of
Appropriation of linear retinal images receptive fields
system
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13. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline 70’S Revolution
NEED A WIDER
The anatomical domain of neurophysiologist identified DEFINITION OF WHAT
vision expanded 20 areas of vision CONSTITUTED VISION
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14. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Marr 1982
Integration between: Artificial vision / neurophysiology / psychology
Need: Thinking more broadly
Inspiration: Gibson
Separate level
Help researchers
A new way to to
New Models of understand Vision
Visual Processing coexist peaceably!
Maybe not appropriate
for higher levels of
visions
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15. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline MARR’s 3 level hypothesis
Computational
Algorithmic
Implementation
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16. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline MARR 3 Levels of representation
3D
2.5D
2D
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17. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Vision Fin De Siècle
So where do researcher now find themselves at the century end?
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18. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Attention
Perception of
Without attention
motion can be
conscious
understood as the
perception simply
active tracking of
does not occur
objects by attention
Attention is critical
in visual perception,
and provide the
beginnings of an
alternative view of
vision against
picture
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19. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Neuroimaging
Growth of science of brain imaging in human subjects
CAT PET MRI fMRI
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20. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Neuropsychology
Cognitive Psychology and Visual
psychophysics applied for
disordered function
Visual System a
Discovery of specialized deficits Each as locus in very separate set of
es.inability to recognize motion brain function
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21. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline THE REBIRTH OF GESTALT
Kanizsa phenomenological approach crafting Acceptance of visual phenomology in
set of demonstration to make important studies for early and
theoretical point about perception. Not just
laws. midlevel vision but also for object
ex. perceptual completion exclusive recognition. Phenomenology as the
visual processes, distinct from higher-order starting point to understand vision
thinking
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22. Computational Vision
VISIONtimeline Behavior
Cases of dissociation of conscious both observed
in patient and healthy subject
The issue of dissociation suggest that
Repetition blindness: observers cannot report methods of visual perception and
the presence of a repeated stimuli in an psychophysics are too restrictive
overlapping succession of letters, words, or
pictures
Different concept of
vision and motor
behavior may require
metapsychological and
philosophical reworking
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23. Computational Vision
CONCLUSION
In 100 years a huge
progress and the growth
of visual system.
The future of vision in
order to be bright as the
past should embrace a
more holistic approach
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24. Computational Vision
DISCUSSION?
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25. Computational Vision
REFERENCEES
Perceptions, reflections, and new directions in Biological
Cybernetics: Horace Barlow in conversation
with Leo van Hemmen and John Rinzel
© Springer-Verlag 2008
http://www.t35.physik.tu-muenchen.de/addons/publications/Barlow-2009.pdf
Lettvin, J. Y., Maturana, H. R., McCulloch, W. S., and Pitts, W. H., Proc. Inst. Radio
Engrs, 47, 1940–1951 (1959).
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