22-111 OUR AMAZING VISUAL SYSTEM (UPDATED REVISED)

22-111 OUR AMAZING VISUAL SYSTEM (UPDATED REVISED)

Bob Springer, Mondays, 1 pm to 3 pm

Sonoran Room: February 21, 28, March 7, 14, 21,

Changes in Our Vision As We Age

Our visual system is amazingly complex.  We “Look” with our eyes, but we “See” with our brains.  Vision requires so much processing that we use half of our brain to see.

We will discuss the effects of aging on our visual perception in detail. We will examine presbyopia making it harder to read small print after about age 40. We address a recent problem: developing nearsightedness and dry eye which we get by looking so frequently at our digital laptop and cell phone screens.  We will discuss cataracts which many of us will get. We will also study macular degeneration, glaucoma, and vitreous and retinal detachment. 

Once we gain an understanding of these problems that occur as we grow older, we will discuss the significant advances that have been made in treating each of these.

This course will also review the basic physiology of the visual system and explore concepts such as spatial vision, depth perception, and the perception of motion. We will view many interesting illusions and other intriguing phenomena.