Perceptual organization in the context of a dynamical and hierarchival visual brain.

The general aim of our Methusalem grant (MG) is to understand the processes and mechanisms of perceptual organization in the context of what we know about the dynamical and hierarchical way in which the brain functions. The phenomena have originally been studied in the context of Gestalt psychology, a specific approach within psychology, strongly rooted within a typically European phenomenological tradition. Theoretical focus then was on autonomous processes of self-organization in the brain (e.g., electric fields) which were very little understood. Since the original rise (1910-30) and gradual decline (1950-70) of Gestalt psychology, a lot of progress has been made in vision science in general, in terms of research methods, theoretical frameworks, and understanding of visual perception. Despite the obvious importance of Gestalt phenomena (e.g., they are always included in introductory textbooks of psychology), their study with modern methods and techniques and their integration in our current understanding of visual perception have seriously lagged behind.

Keywords:Visual brain, Psychology

Disciplines:Biological and physiological psychology, General psychology, Other psychology and cognitive sciences