Designed for college and university students enrolled in second- and third-year sensation and perception courses, Fundamentals of Sensory Perception explores how senses function and how physical stimuli get transformed into signals in the nervous system, as well as how the brain uses those signals to understand the world. Using an innovative presentation of the material, Fundamentals of Sensory Perception begins with the sensation and perception processes that are easiest for students to understand, and uses this knowledge to create a better, more comprehensive understanding of the more complex concepts. The text provides a detailed investigation of all the senses. First, students are introduced to fundamental concepts such as perceptual measurement and the biological foundations of sensory perception. Second, the somatosensory system is presented, introducing students to touch, feeling, and pain, as well as neural receptive fields, a concept that makes the later coverage of vision easier to understand. Next, the chemical senses are covered followed by chapters on the auditory system with chapters on sound and the ear, the perceptual aspects of hearing, and music and speech perception. Finally, the text presents an extensive exploration of vision with chapters on light, optics, and the eye; retinal processing and early vision; cortical processing and object perception; colour perception; depth perception and stereopsis; and motion perception, eye movements, and action. Throughout the text, readers are grounded in the basic scientific principles and biological processes that they need to knowledgeably explore the neurobiological mechanisms of perceptual phenomena.

Table of Contents:
'Features at a Glance' ; Full contents ; Publisher's preface ; Author's preface and acknowledgements ; 1. Principles of Perceptual Measurement ; A. Scientific Basis of Perceptual Measurement ; B. Classical Psychophysics ; C. Modern Psychophysics ; 2. Biological Foundations of Sensory Perception ; A. Organization of the Nervous System ; B. Brain Function at the Cellular Level ; C. Techniques for Studying Brain Function ; 3. The Somatosensory System - Touch, Feeling, and Pain ; A. Neural Basis of Somatosensory Perception ; B. Perceptual Aspects of Tactile Sensation ; C. Proprioception and Kinesthesis ; D. Nociception and Pain ; 4. The Chemosensory Systems - Taste and Smell ; A. General Characteristics of Chemosensory Perception ; B. The Gustatory System - Biological Mechanisms ; C. The Gustatory System - Perceptual Characteristics ; D. The Olfactory System - Biological Mechanisms ; E. The Olfactory System - Perceptual Characteristics ; 5. The Auditory System - Sound and the Ear ; A. The Physics of Sound ; B. Auditory Processing of Sound - Physical Characteristics ; C. Auditory Processing of Sound - Biological Mechanisms ; D. Auditory Dysfunction ; 6. The Auditory System - Perceptual Aspects of Hearing ; A. Intensity and Loudness ; B. Frequency and Pitch ; C. Auditory Space Perception ; 7. The Auditory System - Music and Speech Perception ; A. Music Perception ; B. Speech Perception ; 8. The Visual System - Light, Optics, and the Eye ; A. The Nature of Light ; B. The Eye ; C. Optical Disorders of the Eye ; 9. The Visual System - Retinal Processing and Early Vision ; A. The Photoreceptor Array ; B. Neural Processing in the Retina ; C. Perceptual Aspects of Retinal Function ; 10. The Visual System - Cortical Processing and Object Perception ; A. The Retinal Projection to the Brain ; B. The Primary Visual Cortex ; C. Higher Cortical Functions and Object Perception ; 11. The Visual System - Colour Perception ; A. Colour Science ; B. Biological Aspects of Colour Vision ; C. Perceptual Aspects of Colour ; 12. The Visual System - Depth Perception and Stereopsis ; A. Extrapersonal Space ; B. Monocular Depth Perception ; C. Binocular Depth Perception ; 13. The Visual System - Motion Perception, Eye Movements, and Action ; A. Fundamental Aspects of Motion Processing ; B. Perceptual Aspects of Motion ; C. Eye Movements ; D. Action and Perception ; Glossary ; References ; Name index ; Subject index