Visual Brain in Action Book

First published in 1995, 'The Visual Brain in Action' remains a seminal publication in the cognitive sciences. It presents a model for understanding the visual processing underlying perception and action, proposing a broad distinction within the brain between two kinds of vision: conscious perception and unconscious 'online' vision. It argues that each kind of vision can occur quasi-independently of the other, and is separately handled by a quite different processing system. In the 11 years since publication, the book has provoked considerable interest and debate - throughout both cognitive neuroscience and philosophy, while the field has continued to flourish and develop.

For this new edition, the text from the original edition has been left untouched, standing as a coherent statement of the authors' position. However, a very substantial epilogue has been added to the book in which Milner and Goodale review some of the key developments that support or challenge the views that were put forward in the first edition. The new chapter summarizes developments in various relevant areas of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour. It notably supplements the main text by updating the reader on the contributions that have emerged from the use of functional neuroimaging, which was in its infancy when the first edition was written. Neuroimaging, and functional MRI in particular, has revolutionized the field over the past 11 years by allowing investigators to plot in detail the patterns of activity within the visual brains of behaving and perceiving humans. The authors show how its use now allows scientists to test and confirm their proposals, based as they then were largely on evidence accrued from primate neuroscience in conjunction with studies of neurological patients.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Christopher J. Graver, PhD(Madigan Army Medical Center)
Description:Twelve years ago, when the first edition of this book was published, neuroscientists were beginning to unlock the secrets of visual processing in the human brain. Nonetheless, much of the research at that time was conducted with monkeys and human analogues were proposed. This second edition continues to address visual processing pathways, disorders of visual perception, and dissociations between perception with the assistance of modern neuroscience techniques in humans.
Purpose:According to the authors, the purpose of this second edition is to update previous concepts and theories regarding visual perception with recent studies in the neurosciences, including fMRI. The authors review current research and discuss how it supports or challenges their previous theories.
Audience:This book would be appropriate for researchers and students in the neurosciences, psychology, and other related fields. The authors are accomplished scientists and practitioners who have a wealth of knowledge in this field.
Features:The authors have not changed the main content of the book in this edition; it still puts forth a coherent model of for understanding visual processing and perception. Instead, they have added an epilogue that discusses advances in our understanding of visual processing and the relevance to their original model. The main body of the book starts with the basics of the dorsal/ventral visual processing model and progresses through increasingly specific and complex information that includes clinical examples and animal studies. Figures and illustrations throughout the book make the text easier to understand. Fascinating clinical phenomena are presented, such as cortical blindness, hemi-neglect, and visual agnosias. The new section on recent advances in visual neuroscience is intriguing, but short. Color plates illustrate fMRI findings, a wonderful addition. On the down side, the index is paltry and there are precious few references more current than 2002.
Assessment:This second edition adds a short but necessary update to visual processing models previously put forth. In a time when it is difficult to keep up with the proliferation of cognitive neuroscience research, it provides a good overview of visual processing and recent research in this area. While readers will likely find the material interesting and useful, the book could benefit from more updated references and additional novel information.