Arising from the 2019 Darwin College Lectures, this book presents essays from seven prominent public intellectuals on the theme of vision. Each author examines this theme through the lens of their own particular area of expertise, making for a lively interdisciplinary volume including chapters on neuroscience, colour perception, biological evolution, astronomy, the future of technology, computer vision, and the visionary core of science. Featuring contributions by professors of neuroscienc...

Animal Eyes provides a comparative account of all known types of eye in the animal kingdom, outlining their structure and function with an emphasis on the nature of the optical systems and the physical principles involved in image formation. A universal theme throughout the book is the evolution and taxonomic distribution of each type of eye, and the roles of different eye types in the behaviour and ecology of the animals that possess them. In comparing the specific capabilities o...

Motion processing is an essential piece of the complex brain machinery that allows us to reconstruct the 3D layout of objects in the environment, to break camouflage, to perform scene segmentation, to estimate the ego movement, and to control our action. Although motion perception and its neural basis have been a topic of intensive research and modeling the last two decades, recent experimental evidences have stressed the dynamical aspects of motion integration and segmentation. This book ...

The Laboratory Computer: A Practical Guide for Physiologists and Neuroscientists introduces the reader to both the basic principles and the actual practice of recording physiological signals using the computer. It describes the basic operation of the computer, the types of transducers used to measure physical quantities such as temperature and pressure, how these signals are amplified and converted into digital form, and the mathematical analysis techniques that can then be applied. It is ...

Cultural neuroscience combines brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and event-related brain potentials with methods of social and cultural psychology to investigate whether and how cultures influence the neural mechanisms of perception, attention, emotion, social cognition, and other human cognitive processes. The findings of cultural neuroscience studies improve our understanding of the relation between human brain function and sociocultural contexts and ...

Scholarpedia’s Encyclopedia of Touch provides a comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed articles written by leading researchers, detailing our current scientific understanding of tactile sensing and its neural substrates in animals including humans. The encyclopedia allows ideas and insights to be shared between researchers working on different aspects of touch and in different species, including research in synthetic touch systems. In addition, this encyclopedia raises awarenes...

The main purpose of the book is to provide insight into an area that humans often take for granted. There are wonderful and exciting stories of organisms using chemical signals as a basis of a sophisticated communication system. In many instances, chemical signals can provide more detailed and accurate information than any other mode of communication, yet this world is hidden from us because of our focus on visual and auditory signals. Although we have a diversity of senses available to us...

This long-awaited update of the classic, The Human Nervous System, stands as an impressive survey of our knowledge of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system. The book has been completely redone and brought up-to-date. An impressive and respected cast of international authors have contributed 37 chapters on topics ranging from Brain Evolution, all phases of Brain Development, to all areas of the adult brain and peripheral pathways, along with careful descriptions of the spina...

The study of fish neuroendocrinology has had a significant impact on our general understanding of the functional roles and evolution of a variety of neurochemical messengers and systems. Not only do fish possess unique neuroendocrine features, they have also been and remain an important vertebrate models for the discovery of new neuropeptides. In the last fifty years, neuroendocrinologists have documented a complex and seemingly infinite number of interactions between hormones and nerve st...

This original six chapter book will briefly review and integrate the basic concepts behind water distribution and movement in the body. This fills a knowledge gap that most medical and undergraduate physiology students acquire when these topics are studied separately. As of now, there is no textbook that fully integrates renal, cardiovascular and water physiology in a clear understandable manner. The book is intended primarily for medical students and undergraduate physiology students. Cha...

"Nervous System" is a part of the Principles of Biology course series and the Neuropsychopharmacology course series textbooks. It is a tutorial written in questions and answers format. It is a study guide with in-depth explanations. Each section is a modular unit that is self-contained for easy reading. The principles and concepts are introduced systematically so students can learn and retain the materials intuitively.

Loudness is the primary psychological correlate of intensity. When the intensity of a sound increases, loudness increases. However, there exists no simple one-to-one correspondence between loudness and intensity; loudness can be changed by modifying the frequency or the duration of the sound, or by adding background sounds. Loudness also changes with the listener’s cognitive state. Loudness provides a basic reference for graduate students, consultants, clinicians,...