Stories by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran

When your eyes scan a room, why doesn't the world appear to bounce like the real image on your retina?

The brain, like nature, abhors a vacuum

What uncertainty tells us about the brain

When you hoist two items of equal weight, your brain may be doing some heavy lifting

A tale of binocular rivalry

Studies of the mirror neuron system may reveal clues to the causes of autism and help researchers develop new ways to diagnose and treat the disorder.

People with synesthesia--whose senses blend together--are providing valuable clues to understanding the organization and functions of the brain

Investigating how the visual system compensates for gaps in perception is helping researchers to elucidate how the brain processes images

Shading produces a compelling perception of three-dimensional shape. One way the brain simplifies the task of interpreting shading is by assuming a single light source

When the motion of an intermittently seen object is ambiguous, the visual system resolves confusion by applying some tricks that reflect a built-in knowledge of properties of the physical world