HOW FAST ARE YOUR REFLEXES? DO YOU POSSESS A SIXTH SENSE? WHAT IS THE QUIETEST NOISE THAT CAN BE HEARD BY THE HUMAN EAR? WHY DOES CURRY TASTE HOT? UNDERSTANDING YOUR SENSES OPENS YOUR EYES TO HOW YOU DETECT THE WORLD AROUND YOU. FIND OUT HOW TINY BABIES' SENSES DEVELOP, UNCOVER THE TRICKERY OF OPTICAL ILLUSIONS, STEP INTO THE UNREAL WORLD OF VIRTUAL REALITY, AND LEARN ABOUT THE SUPER SENSES OF SOME ANIMALS. LOOK INSIDE AND FIND OUT ABOUT THESE AND OTHER SENSATIONAL PHENOMENA.
Children with sensory processing disorder (SPD) or sensory processing challenges associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, or other developmental conditions experience the world very differently than other kids. They may react strongly to sounds, textures, and stimulation, finding even seemingly minor sensations intolerable. Other children with SPD hardly notice sensory stimulation at all, or have trouble with basic motor skills and coordination. If your child shows symptoms of this condition, you may wonder what you can do to help ease your child's SPD-related stress, panic, or other challenging behavior. Making Sense of Your Senses is full of activities and skill-building exercises you can do with your child to help him or her balance sensory stimulation and practice self-calming techniques. Kids can use these techniques anytime they feel overwhelmed or have the urge to seek out intense sensory experiences. Before long, your child will be better able to tolerate everyday sensations and prevent stimulation overload-essential skills for living a happy, healthy, and comfortable life.
In this newly revised edition of the award-winning Come to Your Senses: Demystifying the Mind-Body Connection, Dr. Stanley Block offers his Ten-Day Plan to optimize your life -- a breakthrough program that has helped people all over the world heal from post-traumatic stress syndrome, combat trauma, substance abuse, mental illness, pain, and depression. The easy-to-apply method uses Identity System "resting" techniques that enable you to recognize and defuse the self-defeating mental tug-of-war that exists in all of us. Learn how stress, fear, and thought activate the sympathetic nervous system with increased tension, pain, insomnia, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. By literally "coming to your senses" of taste, touch, smell, sight, and sound, you begin to control negative responses, free yourself from a paralyzed state of mind, and live a happy, balanced life. The response is amazing because the results are immediate -- ten days is all it takes -- Dr. Block's techniques take no time out of a busy schedule, they are simply incorporated into whatever activity you are engaged. Bridging the Identity System empowers you to work from your own strength and wisdom to deal with situations that arise in your life.
"Eye-opening…memorable…Rosenblum's enthusiasm is contagious and his prose accessible." —Kirkus Reviews In this revealing romp through the mysteries of human perception, University of California psychologist Lawrence D. Rosenblum explores the astonishing abilities of the five senses—skills of which most of us are unaware. Drawing on groundbreaking insights into the brain's plasticity and integrative powers, Rosenblum examines how our brains use the subtlest information to perceive the world. A blind person, for example, can "see" through bat-like echolocation, wine connoisseurs can actually taste the vintage of an obscure wine, and pheromones can signal a lover's compatibility. Bringing us into the world of a blind detective, a sound engineer, a former supermodel, and other unforgettable characters, Rosenblum not only illuminates the science behind our sensory abilities but also demonstrates how awareness of these abilities can enhance their power.
A lively and unconventional exploration of our senses, how they work, what is revealed when they don't, and how they connect us to the world Over the past decade neuroscience has uncovered a wealth of new information about our senses and how they serve as our gateway to the world. This splendidly accessible book explores the most intriguing findings of this research. With infectious enthusiasm, Rob DeSalle illuminates not only how we see, hear, smell, touch, taste, maintain balance, feel pain, and rely on other less familiar senses, but also how these senses shape our perception of the world aesthetically, artistically, and musically. DeSalle first examines the question of how perception and consciousness are formed in the brain, setting human senses in an evolutionary context. He then investigates such varied themes as supersenses and diminished senses, synesthesia and other cross-sensory phenomena, hemispheric specialization, diseases, anomalies induced by brain injuries, and hallucinations. Focusing on what is revealed about our senses through the extraordinary, he provides unparalleled insights into the unique wonders of the human brain.
If you love nature and being outdoors - hiking, smelling the fresh air, and feeling the warm sun on your skin - you will love this book! This little book is filled with activities to increase your enjoyment and understanding of the natural world. Not only will you understand nature at a deeper level, you will start to understand that you are a part of the natural world and it is part of you!
Bringing together neural, perceptual, and behavioral studies, The Merging of the Senses provides the first detailed review of how the brain assembles information from different sensory systems in order to produce a coherent view of the external world. Stein and Meredith marshall evidence from a broad array of species to show that interactions among senses are the most ancient scheme of sensory organization, an integrative system reflecting a general plan that supersedes structure and species. Most importantly, they explore what is known about the neural processes by which interactions among the senses take place at the level of the single cell.The authors draw on their own experiments to illustrate how sensory inputs converge (from visual, auditory, and somatosensory modalities, for instance) on individual neurons in different areas of the brain, how these neurons integrate their inputs, the principles by which this integration occurs, and what this may mean for perception and behavior. Neurons in the superior colliculus and cortex are emphasized as models of multiple sensory integrators.
Ways of Sensing is a stimulating exploration of the cultural, historical and political dimensions of the world of the senses. The book spans a wide range of settings and makes comparisons between different cultures and epochs, revealing the power and diversity of sensory expressions across time and space. The chapters reflect on topics such as the tactile appeal of medieval art, the healing power of Navajo sand paintings, the aesthetic blight of the modern hospital, the role of the senses in the courtroom, and the branding of sensations in the marketplace. Howes and Classen consider how political issues such as nationalism, gender equality and the treatment of minority groups are shaped by sensory practices and metaphors. They also reveal how the phenomenon of synaesthesia, or mingling of the senses, can be seen as not simply a neurological condition but a vital cultural mode of creating social and cosmic interconnections. Written by leading scholars in the field, Ways of Sensing provides readers with a valuable and engaging introduction to the life of the senses in society.
