Visualization in the neurosciences: seeing abstractions in real time.
One explicit goal of visualization in the neurosciences is to present data to human observers in a way that is informative and meaningful, on the one hand, yet intuitive and effortless on the other. Multidimensional data visualization is concerned with the question "How can we display high-dimensional data elements in a low-dimensional environment, such as on a computer screen or the printed page?" This goal is often pursued by attaching "features" such as hue, intensity, spatial location, and size to each data element. Features are chosen to reveal properties of data elements as well as relationships among them. An ad hoc assignment of features to individual data dimensions may not result in a useful visualization tool. Indeed, too often the tool itself interferes with the viewer's ability to extract the desired information due to a poor choice of feature assignment. The articles presented in this issue address the concerns of representing data to better elucidate complex concepts in the neurosciences.
Leisman
Gerry
G
Carrick Instiute for Clinical Ergonomics, Rehabilitation, and Applied Neurosciences, Bay Shore, New York 11706, USA. drgersh@yahoo.com
Koch
Paul
P
D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D003626:Data Display; D006801:Humans; D009488:Neurosciences; D010465:Perception; D014785:Vision, Ocular