About Us

Our lab is involved in empirical studies on brain mechanisms of human vision. Although the retinal image is undoubtedly the first stage of visual information processing, we do not perceive the retinal image itself. Only through a lot of complex and multistage interactions among various biological signals including visual information and others, a highly adaptive and structured visual world can be represented.

There are several experimental approaches for understanding brain mechanisms of vision; our lab is specialized in visual psychophysics for normal human subjects. The subject observes particular visual stimuli and reports what kind of visual perception emerges. By describing relationship between stimulus and response, specific information processing in the brain can be revealed without direct measurement of brain activities. It requires researcher talent to figure out what visual stimulation is most effective. Cool stimuli (illusory figures etc.) that would confuse normal behavior of the visual system would also be important tools in the lab. Experimental setup is quite simple and easy because all you need is just a personal computer for image presentation (plus a human subject). You can also use special machines to record eye and body movements and see their influences on visual perception.

Murakami's current personal interests include: 1. understanding of mechanisms of visual motion perception, 2. understanding of mechanisms of perceptual completion and filling-in, 3. understanding of relationship among large and small eye movements and visual orienting and positional placement. (However, our lab's research interests should not be limited to these items; autonomous planning and running by students are always highly encouraged.) We expect ambitious students and researchers to join us.

We would also note that the name "Vision Lab" is only tentative. Our lab is not confined within narrow fields about psychophysical understanding of visual information processing, but is open to interdisciplinary research fields listed under the keyword "vision".

If interested to visit us, please feel free to contact us (preferably via e-mail).

Postal mailing address

Murakami Lab., Department of Psychology, Grad. Sch. of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033
E-mail: ikuya@l.u-tokyo.ac.jp