A single-volume approach to the structure and function of the central auditory system of mammals, this richly illustrated book has a unique organization intended to make the information it presents useful to both beginners and experienced researchers. It starts with a concise overview of the subject in the first section, which is then followed by an in-depth treatment of all levels of the central auditory pathway in the next four sections. Ehret and Romand expertly integrate general aspects of sound processing at any given level of the system with special topics relevant to that level. The...

How do animals produce and process sounds for communication� How do their brains encode the large amounts of sensory information so rapidly and how do they use this to cope with their environment� These questions not only concern the evolution of sound communication systems but also aim to understand how arousal, motivation, emotion and behavioral contexts are vocally expressed and how important sound attributes are recognized and perceived. This book highlights auditory communication in several species from four perspectives: actual sound communication, audio-vocal adaptations,...