Eye movements are a vital part of our interaction with the world. They play a pivotal role in perception, cognition, and education. Research in this field is now proceeding at a considerable pace and casting new light on how the eyes move and what information we can derive during the frequent and brief periods of fixation. However, the origins of this work are less well known, even though much of our knowledge was derived from this research with far more primitive equipment. This book is unique in tracing the history of eye movement research. It shows how great strides were made in this area before modern recording devices were available, especially in the measurement of nystagmus. When photographic techniques were adapted to measure discontinuous eye movements, from about 1900, many of the issues that are now basic to modern research were then investigated. One of the earliest cognitive tasks examined was reading, and it remains in the vanguard of contemporary research. Modern researchers in this field will be astonished at the subtleties of these early experimental studies and the ingenuity of interpretations that were advanced one and even two centuries ago. Though physicians often carried out the original eye movement research, later on it was pursued by psychologists - it is within contemporary neuroscience that we find these two strands reunited. Anyone interested in the origins of psychology and neuroscience will find much to stimulate and surprise them in this valuable new work.

About the Author
Nick Wade is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh

Reviews
The book ... provides a fascinating and invaluable survey of the origins of modern eye movement research. As the authors state, there are numerous histories of optics and ophthalmology, but only a very few about eye movements. ... The book reveals in an educational and also entertaining way many fascinating aspects, not only of ancient and modern eye measurement devices, but also of visual perceptual mechanisms and illusions, and the history of eye movement terminology. * Brain *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198566175
Author Nicholas Wade
Format Paperback
Page Count 328
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 548g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 168mm * 19mm