Vision is a dominant human sense, but so complex that traditional research has concentrated on either the optical system of the eye, or the neurobiology of the retina and brain, or the psychology of visual perception. Recently there has been more interest in trying to synthesize new principles using a variety of approaches. This symposium addresses vision in a multidisciplinary way, with perspectives from the worlds of optics, of physiology, and of perceptual psychology. The two central questions addressed are: 1) How is visual processing limited by properties of optics and photoreceptors of the eye? 2) How do behavioral measures of eye movements or perception relate to activity of cells in the visual cortex of the brain? While covering relatively few topics, with speakers of high caliber, this symposium will touch a relatively large and diverse audience both at the site and by the subsequent publication. The effort made to communicate the success of these diverse, powerful approaches is likely to have considerable impact on many young visual scientists, in addition to generating healthy controversy among those more established.
