Richard Masland

Contributing Columnist

An artist’s conception of how sensory signals from the eye are map onto the brain in a slightly distorted way.

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The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World

March 24, 2020

How does experience alter our perceptions? This adapted book excerpt from We Know It When We See It describes how the brain’s visual system rewires itself to make the best use of its neural resources.

About the author

Richard Masland was the David Glendenning Cogan distinguished professor of ophthalmology and professor of neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. For many years he was director of research in ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a recipient of the Proctor Medal and Alcon Research Award, among other honors. Masland made groundbreaking contributions to the study of neural networks and to the reversal of blindness.

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Richard Masland

The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World

The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World

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The Brain Reshapes Our Malleable Senses to Fit the World