ABSTRACT
In visual learning the study of the neurophysiology of the brain is a prerequisite because it provides an explanation of the processes of transforming precepts into concepts. Knowing how the brain works, what tasks are assigned to each part of it, and how they are coordinated enables us to infer how the mind performs its many mental functions relative to the recognition and appreciation of moving images. We observe and study closely the neuro-chemical reactions of the brain’s particular perceptual centers but we can only conclude that the resulting mental functions are caused by specific electrochemical reactions of the nerves of the particular areas of the brain. The workings of the brain, as complex and delicate as they may be to observe and study, are nevertheless tangible; it is possible, with today’s advanced neuroscience, to observe them in progress. However, the operations of the mind cannot be seen; they are invisible, and for the most part still mysterious and inexplicable. Although certain scientists suggest that broad localization of various cognitive functions of the brain is possible (Posner, Petersen, Fox, & Reichle, 1988), the observation of such operations is impossible because they are not “performed by any single area of the brain” (p. 1627). Consequently our efforts to distinguish and study the workings of the mind, no matter how complicated, should increase and expand to such other academic disciplines and fields of study as communication and visual literacy.
