Summary

Today, research in sensation and perception continues to identify interesting and important perceptual phenomena that contribute to our understanding of sensory system structure and function, the nature of perceptual processes, and the human mind. The discovery of additional cone photoreceptor types in the retina is one recent example of a contribution to our fundamental understanding of the visual system. Studies of sensation and perception have also made important contributions to applied fields such as human factors and neuropsychology. In the case of human factors, research in sensation and perception helped in the design of machines that better fit human capabilities. In the case of neuropsychology, this research contributed to our understanding of a variety of neuropathological disorders and has shown promise as a tool for early identification. The future research in sensation and perception will continue to involve studies of fundamental sensory processes as well as complex perceptual mechanisms. One future area of research that shows particular promise is the study of integrated perceptual experiences such as VR.