Biology of Perceptual Systems

1st Edition - January 28, 1973
Editor: Edward Carterette
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 1 4 6 5 9 - 3

Handbook of Perception, Volume III: Biology of Perceptual Systems reviews the literature on the biological aspects of human perception, with emphasis on perceptual systems and… Read more

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Handbook of Perception, Volume III: Biology of Perceptual Systems reviews the literature on the biological aspects of human perception, with emphasis on perceptual systems and elements of sensory physiology. This volume is organized into 19 chapters and begins with a discussion of energy transduction, detection, and discrimination, along with the properties of neurons alone and as conjoined in nets. The focus then shifts to psychogenesis, the relatively new field of ethology, and the natural diversity and evolutionary divergence of sensory systems. The chapters that follow examine the genetics of behavior, the facts and theories about the way in which animals and men construct patterned stimulation of receptors into significant objects, and the structure and function of sensory systems on which vertebrates depend for their construction of the varieties of experience. The book methodically introduces the reader to chemoreception, tasting and smelling, cutaneous mechanoreception (of position, velocity, transients), active texture perception, mechanisms of spatial orientation and of motion in space, thermoreception, vision, and audition. In almost every case the underlying physiological mechanisms are related to the psychophysical or perceptual observations. This book is a valuable resource for psychologists, biologists, and natural scientists, as well as for those who are interested in the biology of human perception.

List of Contributors

Foreword

Preface

Contents of Other Volumes

Chapter 1. Energy, Transducers, and Sensory Discrimination

I. Introductory Summary

II. Sensory Experience

III. Receptors

IV. Stimuli

V. Responses

VI. Special Cases

VII. Conclusion

References

Chapter 2. Neuronal Properties

I. Structural Basis for Nervous System Functioning

II. The Nerve Impulse

III. Synaptic Function

IV. Neural Integration

V. Encoding Information

VI. Special Properties

VII. Summary

VIII. Guide to the Neurophysiological Literature

References

Chapter 3. Integration in Nervous Systems

I. Coding

II. Synapses

III. Integration

IV. Fields of Sensitivity

V. Convergence and Complex Fields

VI. Summation versus Discrimination

VII. Physiological Pathways and Anatomic Connections

VIII. The Problem in Historical Perspective

IX. Reflexes

X. Eccles' Explanatory Contribution

XI. Back to Anatomy

XII. Other Developments

XIII. The Splintering Field

XIV. Centrally Determined Sequences

XV. Computers as Models of Brains

XVI. Circuits of Restricted Locality

XVII. Toward More Identified Cells

XVIII. Constancy of Synaptic Connections

XIX. Prospect

References

Chapter 4. Primordial Sense Organs and the Evolution of Sensory Systems

I. Introduction

II. The Variety of Sense Organs

III. Primitive "Eyes"

IV. Specialization in Vertebrates

V. The Vertebrate Central Nervous System

VI. Mammalian Evolutionary Trends

VII. Cerebral Cortex

VIII. Neural Organization and Perception

References

Chapter 5. Behavioral Embryology

I. Introduction

II. The Embryonic Nervous System

III. The Fetus

IV. The Neonate: Postnatal Behavior Growth

V. Conclusion

References

Chapter 6. Ethology

I. Introduction

II. Basic Concepts of Ethology

III. An Ethological Approach to the Study of Perception

References

Chapter 7. Genetic Control

I. Objectives and Methods of Behavior-Genetic Analysis

II. Research Findings

III. General Conclusions

References

Chapter 8. Object Recognition

I. Introduction

II. Facts

III. Theory

References

Chapter 9. Chemoreception

I. Introduction

II. Morphology of Chemoreceptors

III. Electrophysiology

References

Chapter 10. Tasting and Smelling

I. Introduction

II. Sensitivity

III. Preferences

IV. Dietary and Metabolic Factors

V. Chemical Communication and Pheromones

References

Chapter 11. Cutaneous Mechanoreceptors

I. Criteria for Classification of Cutaneous Mechanoreceptive Neurons

II. Mechanoreceptors in Hairy Skin

III. Mechanoreceptors in Glabrous Skin

IV. Mechanoreceptors Associated with Sinus Hairs, Teeth, and Claws

V. Conclusion

References

Chapter 12. Tactual Perception of Texture

I. Introduction

II. Experiments Related to Texture Perception

III. Toward a Conceptual Model of Texture Perception

IV. General Discussion and Conclusion

References

Chapter 13. The Spatial Senses

I. Auditory Localization

II. Joint Receptors

III. Muscle Spindles and Tendon Organs

IV. The Vestibular System

References

Chapter 14. Orientation and Motion in Space

I. The Topology of the Sensorimotor System

II. Kinesthesis

III. The Body Schema

IV. Gravitational Orientation

V. Egocentric Orientation

VI. Geographic Orientation and Navigation

VII. Sensori-Motor Coordination

References

Chapter 15. Temperature Reception

I. Thermal Sensations

II. Neurophysiology of Thermoreception

III. Comparison of Various Approaches to Temperature Reception

References

Chapter 16. Vision

I. Light

II. Photopigments

III. Anatomy

IV. Electrical Responses—Retina

V. Electrical Responses—CNS

References

Chapter 17. Seeing

I. Psychophysics

II. Physiological Correlates

References

Chapter 18. Hearing: Central Neural Mechanisms

I. The Evolution of the Vertebrate Auditory System

II. The Evolution of Sound Reception

III. The Contribution of Central Auditory Structures to Hearing

References

Chapter 19. Audition

I. Nonmammalian Auditory Systems

II. Mammalian Auditory Systems

III. Summary

References

Author Index

Subject Index