Sensation, Perception and Action: An Evolutionary Perspective

ISBN-13: 9780230552678 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 350 str.

Johannes Zanker

Opis

Our senses enable us to interact with the world around us, taking in a mass of information as we do so. This textbook covers the full scope of the different senses by taking a 'designer's view' that describes sensory processes through evolutionary adaptations, and discusses how behaviour is affected by the way data is collected and used.

Spis treści

Perception as Gateway to the World The Machinery: Understanding the Neural Code Vision 1: Brightness Vision 2: Colour Vision 3: From Images to Space Vision 4: Time and Motion Hearing 1: Sound and Noise Hearing 2: Complex Auditory Information Chemical Senses: Smell and Taste  Body Senses: From the Control of Posture to Touch  Focus of Interest: Attentional Modulation of Perception Managing Information Flow Through Integration of Sensory and Motor Systems Making Sense: Theoretical Approaches to Perception.

O autorze

JOHANNES ZANKER is Professor of Neuroscience at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK, where he is also Head of the Psychology department. He has held positions at the Max-Planck Institute, Germany; the Australian National University; and University College London, UK.  His research over the last 20 years has centred on topics at the boundaries of biology, computer science and psychology    

Blurb

With a style that is both detailed and accessible, this new text from Johannes Zanker provides students with a solid understanding of how our sensory and perceptual systems operate, and interact with a dynamic world. It not only explains the scientific mechanisms involved, but discusses the costs and benefits of these mechanisms within an evolutionary, functional framework, to encourage important questions such as: What is a given sensory mechanism needed for? What kind of problem can it solve and what are its limitations? How does the environment determine how senses operate? How does action affect and facilitate perception?

This unique, interdisciplinary framework allows students to see perceiving and acting as embedded in particular environments and directs them to think about the functional nature of these systems. The overall effect is an especially readable, authoritative text on Sensation, Perception and Action that really brings this fascinating topic to life.