What can magic tell us about ourselves and our daily lives? If you subtly change the subject during an uncomfortable conversation, did you know you're using attentional 'misdirection', a core technique of magic? And if you've ever bought an expensive item you'd sworn never to buy, you were probably unaware that the salesperson was, like an accomplished magician, a master at creating the 'illusion of choice'. Leading neuroscientists Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde meet with magicians from all over the world to explain how the magician's art sheds light on consciousness, memory, attention, and belief. As the founders of the new discipline of NeuroMagic, they combine cutting-edge scientific research with startling insights into the tricks of the magic trade. By understanding how magic manipulates the processes in our brains, we can better understand how we work - in fields from law and education to marketing, health and psychology - for good and for ill.

This book presents a collection of articles reflecting state-of-the-art research in visual perception, specifically concentrating on neural correlates of perception. Each section addresses one of the main topics in vision research today. Part 2: Fundamentals of Awareness, Multi-Sensory Integration and High-Order Perception covers topics from filling-in to visual awareness to crossmodal interactions. A variety of methodological approaches are represented, including single-neuron recordings, fMRI and optical imaging, psychophysics, eye movement characterization and computational modelling. The contributions will provide the reader with a valuable perspective on the current status of vision research, and more importantly, with critical insight into future research directions and the discoveries yet to come.
- Provides a detailed breakdown of the neural and psychophysical bases of Perception
- Presents never-before-published original discoveries
- Includes multiple full-color illustrations

This book presents a collection of articles reflecting state-of-the-art research in visual perception, specifically concentrating on neural correlates of perception. Each section addresses one of the main topics in vision research today. Volume 1 Fundamentals of Vision: Low and Mid-Level Processes in Perception covers topics from receptive field analyses to shape perception and eye movements. A variety of methodological approaches are represented, including single-neuron recordings, fMRI and optical imaging, psychophysics, eye movement characterization and computational modelling. The contributions will provide the reader with a valuable perspective on the current status of vision research, and more importantly, with critical insight into future research directions and the discoveries yet to come.
. Provides a detailed breakdown of the neural and psychophysical bases of Perception
. Presents never-before-published original discoveries
. Includes multiple full-color illustrations"

Stephen Macknik and Susana Martinez-Conde, the founders of the exciting new discipline of neuromagic, have convinced some of the world's greatest magicians to allow scientists to study their techniques for tricking the brain. The implications of neuromagic go beyond illuminating our behavior; early research points to new approaches for everything from the diagnosis of autism to marketing techniques and education. Fun and accessible, "Sleights of Mind" is "a tour through consciousness, attention, and deception via the marriage of professional magic and cognitive neuroscience" (Vanessa Schipani, " The Scientist").