Volume 1: The Ear (edited by Paul Fuchs) Volume 2: The Auditory Brain (edited by Alan Palmer and Adrian Rees) Volume 3: Hearing (edited by Chris Plack) Auditory science is one of the fastest growing areas of biomedical research. There are now around 10,000 researchers in auditory science, and ten times that number working in allied professions. This growth is attributable to several major developments: Research on the inner ear has shown that elaborate systems of mechanical, transduction and neural processes serve to improve sensitivity, sharpen frequency tuning, and modulate response of the ear to sound. Most recently, the molecular machinery underlying these phenomena has been explored and described in detail. The development, maintenance, and repair of the ear are also subjects of contemporary interest at the molecular level, as is the genetics of hearing disorders due to cochlear malfunctions.
Volume 1: The Ear (edited by Paul Fuchs) Volume 2: The Auditory Brain (edited by Alan Palmer and Adrian Rees) Volume 3: Hearing (edited by Chris Plack) Auditory science is one of the fastest growing areas of biomedical research. There are now around 10,000 researchers in auditory science, and ten times that number working in allied professions. This growth is attributable to several major developments: Research on the inner ear has shown that elaborate systems of mechanical, transduction and neural processes serve to improve sensitivity, sharpen frequency tuning, and modulate response of the ear to sound. Most recently, the molecular machinery underlying these phenomena has been explored and described in detail. The development, maintenance, and repair of the ear are also subjects of contemporary interest at the molecular level, as is the genetics of hearing disorders due to cochlear malfunctions.
The first volume in The Oxford Handbook of Auditory Science, The Ear serves both as an introduction and as a reference work for anyone interested in how 'hearing' happens. It will be a valuable resource, for anyone interested in the ongoing challenge, and adventure, of understanding the mysteries of the ear.
The Oxford Handbook of The Auditory Brainstem provides an introduction as well as an in-depth reference to the organization and function of ascending and descending auditory pathways in the mammalian brainstem. Individual chapters are organized along the auditory pathway beginning with the cochlea and ending with the auditory midbrain. Each chapter provides an introduction to the respective area, and summarizes our current knowledge before discussing disputes and challenges the field currently faces. A major emphasis throughout this book is on the numerous forms of plasticity that are increasingly observed in many areas of the auditory brainstem. Several chapters focus on neuronal modulation of function and synaptic, neuronal, and circuit plasticity, especially under circumstances when they occur most prominently: during development, aging, and following peripheral hearing loss. In addition, the book addresses the role of trauma-induced maladaptive plasticity with respect to its contribution in generating central hearing dysfunction such as hyperacusis and tinnitus. The book is intended for students and postdocs starting in the auditory field, and researchers of related fields who wish to get an authoritative and up-to-date summary of the current state of auditory brainstem research. For clinical practitioners in audiology, otolaryngology, and neurology, the book is a valuable resource of information about the neuronal mechanisms that are major candidates for the generation of central hearing dysfunction.
Volume 1: The Ear (edited by Paul Fuchs) Volume 2: The Auditory Brain (edited by Alan Palmer and Adrian Rees) Volume 3: Hearing (edited by Chris Plack) Auditory science is one of the fastest growing areas of biomedical research. There are now around 10,000 researchers in auditory science, and ten times that number working in allied professions. This growth is attributable to several major developments: Research on the inner ear has shown that elaborate systems of mechanical, transduction and neural processes serve to improve sensitivity, sharpen frequency tuning, and modulate response of the ear to sound. Most recently, the molecular machinery underlying these phenomena has been explored and described in detail. The development, maintenance, and repair of the ear are also subjects of contemporary interest at the molecular level, as is the genetics of hearing disorders due to cochlear malfunctions. The auditory brain has now been shown to consist of much more than the regions of the classical 'central auditory system'. Through fMRI studies in humans and the application of novel methods in animal research, the cortical areas involved in hearing and listening in primates have been found to extend beyond the superior temporal plane into more rostral and ventral regions of the temporal cortex, and into parietal and frontal lobes. At the same time, our understanding of subcortical and core cortical areas has expanded through the use of spectrally complex stimuli and multi-channel recordings, increasingly in awake, behaving animals. Studies of auditory perception have increasingly focused on auditory 'ecology', on complex sound perception in real (or virtual) environments. Traditional distinctions between spectral, temporal and binaural processing have evolved into more functional concerns, with speech, pitch, spatial hearing and auditory object perception. Dynamic properties of hearing are becoming more prominent as adaptation and learning receive increasing recognition. Finally, influences of hearing on and by cognition (attention, memory and emotion), action and vision add to a picture of a powerful, working, integrated sense that is, arguably, the most important contributor to our interaction with our world. With each volume dedicated to one these core topics, The Oxford Handbook of Auditory Science is a major publication in the field. It brings together the views of leading researchers in the field to provide a comprehensive and authoritative review of the current state of the art in auditory science. The breadth of coverage, coupled with the accessibility of the short chapter format will make the handbook essential reading for both students and researchers in the field of audition, as well as those in psychology and neuroscience. Clinical audiologists and otolaryngologists will also find this handbook an indispensable reference source.
"Hearing" is the third and final volume in the Oxford Handbook of Auditory Science series. It provides a comprehensive account of our current understanding of auditory perception; that is, how humans and other animals experience the auditory world.
An integrated overview of hearing and the interplay of physical, biological, and psychological processes underlying it. Every time we listen—to speech, to music, to footsteps approaching or retreating—our auditory perception is the result of a long chain of diverse and intricate processes that unfold within the source of the sound itself, in the air, in our ears, and, most of all, in our brains. Hearing is an "everyday miracle" that, despite its staggering complexity, seems effortless. This book offers an integrated account of hearing in terms of the neural processes that take place in different parts of the auditory system. Because hearing results from the interplay of so many physical, biological, and psychological processes, the book pulls together the different aspects of hearing—including acoustics, the mathematics of signal processing, the physiology of the ear and central auditory pathways, psychoacoustics, speech, and music—into a coherent whole.
The study of music and the brain can be traced back to the work of Gall in the 18th century, continuing with John Hughlings Jackson, August Knoblauch, Richard Wallaschek, and others. These early researchers were interested in localizing musicality in the brain and learning more about how music is processed in both healthy individuals and those with dysfunctions of various kinds. Since then, the research literature has mushroomed, especially in the latter part of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain is a groundbreaking compendium of current research on music in the human brain. It brings together an international roster of 54 authors from 13 countries providing an essential guide to this rapidly growing field. The major themes include Music, the Brain, and Cultural Contexts; Music Processing in The Human Brain; Neural Responses to Music; Musicianship and Brain Function; Developmental Issues in Music and the Brain; Music, the Brain, and Health; and the Future. Each chapter offers a thorough review of the current status of research literature as well as an examination of limitations of knowledge and suggestions for future advancement and research efforts. The book is valuable for a broad readership including neuroscientists, musicians, clinicians, researchers and scholars from related fields but also readers with a general interest in the topic.
The study of music and the brain can be traced back to the work of Gall in the 18th century, continuing with John Hughlings Jackson, August Knoblauch, Richard Wallaschek, and others. These early researchers were interested in localizing musicality in the brain and learning more about how music is processed in both healthy individuals and those with dysfunctions of various kinds. Since then, the research literature has mushroomed, especially in the latter part of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain is a groundbreaking compendium of current research on music in the human brain. It brings together an international roster of 54 authors from 13 countries providing an essential guide to this rapidly growing field. The major themes include Music, the Brain, and Cultural Contexts; Music Processing in The Human Brain; Neural Responses to Music; Musicianship and Brain Function; Developmental Issues in Music and the Brain; Music, the Brain, and Health; and the Future. Each chapter offers a thorough review of the current status of research literature as well as an examination of limitations of knowledge and suggestions for future advancement and research efforts. The book is valuable for a broad readership including neuroscientists, musicians, clinicians, researchers and scholars from related fields but also readers with a general interest in the topic.
