Neurobiology of Visual Perception: The past two decades have seen an explosion of knowledge in the field of neuroscience, and a parallel resurgence of interest in the biology of mind. Many psychoanalysts and neuroscientists alike have begun to explore ways in which observations from each field may complement or even direct research in the other field. Since few would hold to a strict mind-brain dualism, most anticipate that such cross-fertilization will be ultimately fruitful. Freud's original hopes for a biologically based depth psychology may begin to be realized a century later.

Because the material may be new to many readers, I have chosen to present several related abstracts in one area of neuroscience research of potential interest to psychoanalysts. It is hoped that these selections will provide context for each other, and that taken together, they will "tell a story." As a starting place I have chosen to focus on sensory perception, particularly vision. Other areas will be taken up in future issues of this journal.

The neurophysiological basis of perception has intrigued neurobiologists for decades. How is the rich and integrated world of perceptual experience built from elemental cellular activity? Vision is the most extensively studied sensory system, and its explication promises to shed light on the general problem of perception, as well as on the larger issues of awareness, selective attention (and inattention), and consciousness. Furthermore, visual phenomena are intrinsic to a wide array of human experience, ranging from veridical perception to fantasy, illusion, hallucinosis, and dreaming. A theory of vision may yield greater understanding of these experiences as well, and may thereby provide a bridge to the exploration of unconscious operations.