Designing Presence offers a unique insight into the training that has helped people around the world to cultivate more presence in both professional and personal settings. It explains the research behind the method of Towards Vivencia, shares stories of how it has been implemented and offers practical exercises to apply it in any context. Presence is something that is often talked about but is difficult to pin down. We have all experienced moments when we felt one with what we are doing and with our environment. However, this feeling is usually fleeting and we don't know when or how we will experience it again. Towards Vivencia is the first methodology of its kind to train performers to locate and replicate that specific state of consciousness associated with presence and peak performance. Based on over 20 years of experience, combined with research in anthropology, philosophy and the latest advances in neuroscience, Towards Vivencia enables performers to become fully engaged with their experience in order to operate at their highest possible level. This book aims to equip readers with the ability to actively design their experiences and create lasting changes not only in how they approach performance but also how they approach their everyday lives.

Interpreting Visual Art explores the psychological and cognitive mechanisms that underlie one's interpretation of art. After the brain encodes visual information, this encoding is then processed by perceptual mechanisms to identify objects and depth in pictures. The brain incorporates many factors in order for people to "see" the art. Cognitive processes have a major role in how people interpret artworks because attention, memory, and language are also linked to the aesthetic experience. Catherine Weir and Evans Mandes first examine major attributes of aesthetic judgement - balance, symmetry, color, line, and shape - from an empirical point of view as opposed to more philosophical and speculative approaches. Then, they explore the perceptual process, paying special attention to art history in the Western world and emphasizing techniques from cave paintings to modern art. The role beauty and emotions play in our interpretations of pictures have been investigated from many approaches: evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and appraisal theory. Through the application of empirical research in cognitive science to master works from Botticelli to Pollock, readers are introduced to a research-oriented understanding of how art has been perceived, interpreted, and appreciated in the twenty-first century. This book will appeal to those interested in art as well as those teaching art history, psychology, and neuroscience.

This book aims to illuminate theoretical and methodological advances in computational cultural neuroscience and the implications of these advances for philosophy. Philosophical studies in computational cultural neuroscience introduce core considerations such as culture and computation, and the role of scientific and technological progression for the advancement of cultural processes. The study of how cultural and biological factors shape human behaviour has been an important inquiry for centuries, and recent advances in the field of computational cultural neuroscience allow for novel insights into the computational foundations of cultural processes in the structural and functional organization of the nervous system. The author examines the computational foundations of the mind and brain across cultures and investigates the influence of culture on the computational mind and brain. The book explores recent advances in the field, providing novel insights on topics such as artificialism, reconstructionism, and intelligence. Philosophy of Computational Cultural Neuroscience is fascinating reading for students and academics in the field of neuroscience who wish to take a cultural or philosophical approach to their studies and research. This book is the winner of the International Cultural Neuroscience Society's International Book Prize.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), directly related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, presents a crisis in contact sports, the military, and public health. Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Science and Engineering Perspective reviews current understanding of mTBI, methods of diagnosis, treatment, policy concerns, and emerging technologies. It details the neurophysiology and epidemiology of brain injuries by presenting disease models and descriptions of nucleating events, characterizes sensors, imagers, and related diagnostic measures used for evaluating and identifying brain injuries, and relates emerging bioinformatics analysis with mTBI markers. The book goes on to discuss issues with sports medicine and military issues; covers therapeutic strategies, surgeries, and future developments; and finally addresses drug trials and candidates for therapy. The broad coverage and accessible discussions will appeal to professionals in diverse fields related to mTBI, students of neurology, medicine, and biology, as well as policy makers and lay persons interested in this hot topic. Features Summarizes the entire scope of the field of mTBI Details the neurophysiology, epidemiology, and presents disease models and descriptions of nucleating events Characterizes sensors, imagers, and related diagnostic measures and relates emerging bioinformatics analysis with mTBI markers Discusses issues with sports medicine and military issues Covers therapeutic strategies, surgeries, and future developments and addresses drug trials and candidates Dr Mark Mentzer earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Delaware. He is a former research scientist at the US Army Research Laboratory where he studied mild traumatic brain injury and developed early-detection brain injury helmet sensors. He is a certified test director and contracting officer representative. He possesses two Level-III Defense Acquisition University Certifications in Science and Technology Management and in Test and Evaluation. During his career, he developed a wide range of sensors and instrumentation as well as biochemical processes to assess brain trauma. Mentzer currently teaches graduate systems engineering and computer science courses at the University of Maryland University College.

The most comprehensive and practical guide available for caregivers of children who have seizures and epilepsy, now completely updated. For more than 30 years, parents, caregivers, and health care providers have trusted Seizures and Epilepsy in Children to provide comprehensive, science-based information and practical answers to the most common questions about these conditions. In this new edition, completely revised and updated, a team of experts from Johns Hopkins Medicine offers guidance on: * diagnostic testing and the latest treatments * recommendations for the best devices, apps, and websites * driving, health insurance, and playing sports * navigating school and other environments * mental health issues and counseling * coping with disability * side effects from medications This new edition also features dedicated chapters on diet, complementary and alternative medicine, and rescue medicines. Seizures and Epilepsy in Children is the go-to resource for caregivers and families with children who have epilepsy and seizures.

Attainment and Executive Functioning in the Early Years combines knowledge and understanding from research with operational skills from practice in the early years. It presents the development of a sense of self which occurs between birth and five years, the effect of adverse childhood experiences, and the link to executive functioning in adulthood. The book supports the development of expertise which can be applied to enhance inclusive pedagogy, to nurture attainment and to contribute to life-long learning. It explores practice approaches which support children to gain a sense of self, to recognise the needs of others and to achieve fulfilment by operating with purpose. Research is accessed to gain knowledge and understanding of the complex processes which result in a demonstration of executive functioning in childhood. Attainment and Executive Functioning in the Early Years will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of early years' care, and education. It will also appeal to those working within children's services.

Given Ulysses' perhaps unparalleled attention to the operations of the human mind, it is unsurprising that critics have explored the work's psychology. Nonetheless, there has been very little research that draws on recent cognitive science to examine thought and emotion in this novel. Hogan sets out to expand our understanding of Ulysses, as well as our theoretical comprehension of narrative-and even our views of human cognition. He revises the main narratological accounts of the novel, clarifying the complex nature of narration and style. He extends his cognitive study to encompass the anti-colonial and gender concerns that are so obviously important to Joyce's work. Finally, through a combination of broad overviews and detailed textual analyses, Hogan seeks to make this notoriously difficult book more accessible to non-specialists.

Recent work in cognitive science, much of it placed in opposition to a computational view of the mind, has argued that the concept of representation and theories based on that concept are not sufficient to explain the details of cognitive processing. These attacks on representation have focused on the importance of context sensitivity in cognitive processing, on the range of individual differences in performance, and on the relationship between minds and the bodies and environments in which they exist. In each case, models based on traditional assumptions about representation have been assumed to be too rigid to account for the effects of these factors on cognitive processing. In place of a representational view of mind, other formalisms and methodologies, such as nonlinear differential equations (or dynamical systems) and situated robotics, have been proposed as better explanatory tools for understanding cognition. This book is based on the notion that, while new tools and approaches for understanding cognition are valuable, representational approaches do not need to be abandoned in the course of constructing new models and explanations. Rather, models that incorporate representation are quite compatible with the kinds of complex situations being modeled with the new methods. This volume illustrates the power of this explicitly representational approach--labeled "cognitive dynamics"--in original essays by prominent researchers in cognitive science. Each chapter explores some aspect of the dynamics of cognitive processing while still retaining representations as the centerpiece of the explanations of the key phenomena. These chapters serve as an existence proof that representation is not incompatible with the dynamics of cognitive processing. The book is divided into sections on foundational issues about the use of representation in cognitive science, the dynamics of low level cognitive processes (such as visual and auditory perception and simple lexical priming), and the dynamics of higher cognitive processes (including categorization, analogy, and decision making).

Mechanisms of Taste Transduction introduces a number of topics essential to a complete understanding of taste. These topics range from the control of food intake to the biophysical mechanisms of transduction and the design of food flavors in the food industry. The responses and organization of special sensory pathways are described in regard to their development, morphology, composition, electrophysiological and biochemical responses. Details are presented at several levels to appeal to researchers in molecular biology, membrane biophysics, human psychophysics, neuroanatomy, and chemistry. Current research is described in the context of what preceding studies have revealed, and the chapter authors are among today's most active and highly respected researchers in the field of chemical senses.

Written by a single author in a clear and consistent writing style, presents a logical and easy to follow discussion about each phase of neural development Presents an accessible approach to developmental neurobiology for students who do not have an extensive background in neuroscience or cell and molecular biology Clear, informative, and easy-to-follow illustrations support the concepts presented in the text Highlights neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders where relevant and therapeutic approaches to neurological diseases

David E. Over is a leading cognitive scientist and, with his firm grounding in philosophical logic, he also exerts a powerful influence on the psychology of reasoning. He is responsible for not only a large body of empirical work and accompanying theory, but for advancing a major shift in thinking about reasoning, commonly known as the 'new paradigm' in the psychology of human reasoning. Over's signature mix of philosophical logic and experimental psychology has inspired generations of researchers, psychologists, and philosophers alike over more than a quarter of a century. The chapters in this volume, written by a leading group of contributors including a number who helped shape the psychology of reasoning as we know it today, each take their starting point from the key themes of Over's ground-breaking work. The essays in this collection explore a wide range of central topics-such as rationality, bias, dual processes, and dual systems-as well as contemporary psychological and philosophical theories of conditionals. It concludes with an engaging new chapter, authored by David E. Over himself, which details and analyses the new paradigm psychology of reasoning. This book is therefore important reading for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in psychology, philosophy, and the cognitive sciences, including those who are not familiar with Over's thought already.

'Sarma's book may be the most important work on education written this century' - Skeptic As the head of Open Learning at MIT, Sanjay Sarma has a daunting job description: to fling open the doors of the MIT experience for the benefit of the wider world. But if you're going to undertake such an ambitious project, you must first ask: How exactly does learning work? What conditions are most conducive? Are our traditional classroom methods - lecture, homework, test, repeat - actually effective? And if not, which techniques are? Grasp takes readers across multiple frontiers, from fundamental neuroscience to cognitive psychology and beyond, as it explores the future of learning. For instance: · Scientists are studying the role of forgetting, exposing it not as a simple failure of memory but a critical weapon in our learning arsenal · New developments in neuroimaging are helping us understand how reading works in the brain. It's become possible to identify children who might benefit from specialised dyslexia interventions - before they learn to read · Many schools have begun converting to flipped classrooms, in which you watch a lesson at home, then do your 'homework' in class Along the way, Sarma debunks long-held views such as the noxious idea of 'learning styles,' while equipping readers with a set of practical tools for absorbing and retaining information across a lifetime of learning. He presents a vision for learning that's more inclusive and democratic - revealing a world bursting with powerful learners, just waiting for the chance they deserve. Drawing from the author's experience as an educator and the work of researchers and educational innovators at MIT and beyond, Grasp offers scientific and practical insight, promising not just to inform and entertain readers but to open their minds.

Autobiographical memory is constituted from the integration of several memory skills, as well as the ability to narrate. This all helps in understanding our relation to self, family contexts, culture, brain development, and traumatic experiences. The present volume discusses contemporary approaches to childhood memories and examines cutting-edge research on the development of autobiographical memory. The chapters in this book written by a group of leading authors, each make a unique contribution by describing a specific developmental domain. In providing a multinational and multicultural perspective on autobiographical memory development-and by covering a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, this state-of-the-book is essential reading on the autobiographical memory system for memory researchers and graduate students. It is also of interest to scholars and students working more broadly in the fields of cognitive, developmental, and social psychology, and to academics who are conducting interdisciplinary research on neuroscience, family relationships, narrative methods, culture, and oral history.

Building on work in feminist studies, queer studies and critical race theory, this volume challenges the universality of propositions about human nature, by questioning the boundaries between predominant neurotypes and 'others', including dyslexics, autistics and ADHDers. This is the first work of its kind to bring cutting-edge research across disciplines to the concept of neurodiversity. It offers in-depth explorations of the themes of cure/prevention/eugenics; neurodivergent wellbeing; cross-neurotype communication; neurodiversity at work; and challenging brain-bound cognition. It analyses the role of neuro-normativity in theorising agency, and a proposal for a new alliance between the Hearing Voices Movement and neurodiversity. In doing so, we contribute to a cultural imperative to redefine what it means to be human. To this end, we propose a new field of enquiry that finds ways to support the inclusion of neurodivergent perspectives in knowledge production, and which questions the theoretical and mythological assumptions that produce the idea of the neurotypical. Working at the crossroads between sociology, critical psychology, medical humanities, critical disability studies, and critical autism studies, and sharing theoretical ground with critical race studies and critical queer studies, the proposed new field - neurodiversity studies - will be of interest to people working in all these areas.

Theatrocracy is a book about the power of the theatre, how it can affect the people who experience it, and the societies within which it is embedded. It takes as its model the earliest theatrical form we possess complete plays from, the classical Greek theatre of the fifth century BCE, and offers a new approach to understanding how ancient drama operated in performance and became such an influential social, cultural, and political force, inspiring and being influenced by revolutionary developments in political engagement and citizen discourse. Key performative elements of Greek theatre are analyzed from the perspective of the cognitive sciences as embodied, live, enacted events, with new approaches to narrative, space, masks, movement, music, words, emotions, and empathy. This groundbreaking study combines research from the fields of the affective sciences - the study of human emotions - including cognitive theory, neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, psychiatry, and cognitive archaeology, with classical, theatre, and performance studies. This book revisits what Plato found so unsettling about drama - its ability to produce a theatrocracy, a "government" of spectators - and argues that this was not a negative but an essential element of Athenian theatre. It shows that Athenian drama provided a place of alterity where audiences were exposed to different viewpoints and radical perspectives. This perspective was, and is, vital in a freethinking democratic society where people are expected to vote on matters of state. In order to achieve this goal, the theatre offered a dissociative and absorbing experience that enhanced emotionality, deepened understanding, and promoted empathy. There was, and still is, an urgent imperative for theatre.

The author of the New York Times bestselling Genius Foods offers a lifestyle program for resetting your brain and body to their "factory settings"-to help fight fatigue, anxiety, and depression and to optimize cognitive health for a longer and healthier life. The human body was honed under conditions that no longer exist. The modern world has changed dramatically since our days as hunter gatherers, and it has caused widespread anxiety, stress, and disease, leaving our brains in despair. But science proves that the body and brain can be healed with the intervention of lifestyle protocols that help us to regain our cognitive birthright. In The Genius Life, Lugavere expands the Genius Foods plan, which focused on nutrition and how it affects brain health, and expands it to encompass a full lifestyle protocol. We know now that the health of our brains-including our cognitive function and emotional wellness-depend on the health of our gut, endocrine, cardiac and nervous systems as there is a constant feedback loop between all systems. Drawing on globe-spanning research into circadian biology, psychology, dementia prevention, cognitive optimization, and exercise physiology, The Genius Life shows how to integrate healthy choices in all aspects of our daily routines: eating, exercising, sleeping, detoxing, and more to create a healthy foundation for optimal cognitive health and performance. Among Max's groundbreaking findings, you will discover: * A trick that gives you the equivalent of a "marathon" workout, in 10 minutes * How to get the benefits of an extra 1-2 servings of veggies daily without eating them * The hidden chemicals in your home that could be making you fat and sick * How to boost melatonin levels by up to 58% for deeper sleep without supplements The book features an achievable prescriptive 21-day plan for Genius Living that includes daily workouts, meal plans, and meal prep tips, and accompanied with helpful suggestions for healthy swaps and snacks

The Routledge Handbook of Neuroethics offers the reader an informed view of how the brain sciences are being used to approach, understand, and reinvigorate traditional philosophical questions, as well as how those questions, with the grounding influence of neuroscience, are being revisited beyond clinical and research domains. It also examines how contemporary neuroscience research might ultimately impact our understanding of relationships, flourishing, and human nature. Written by 61 key scholars and fresh voices, the Handbook's easy-to-follow chapters appear here for the first time in print and represent the wide range of viewpoints in neuroethics. The volume spotlights new technologies and historical articulations of key problems, issues, and concepts and includes cross-referencing between chapters to highlight the complex interactions of concepts and ideas within neuroethics. These features enhance the Handbook's utility by providing readers with a contextual map for different approaches to issues and a guide to further avenues of interest. Chapter 11 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license. https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315708652.ch11

This book offers students an introduction to human spatial cognition and experience and is designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students who are interested in the study of maps in the head and the psychology of space. We live in space and space surrounds us. We interact with space all the time, consciously or unconsciously, and make decisions and actions based on our perceptions of that space. Have you ever wondered how some people navigate perfectly using maps in their heads while other people get lost even with a physical map? What do you mean when you say you have a poor "sense of direction"? How do we know where we are? How do we use and represent information about space? This book clarifies that our knowledge and feelings emerge as a consequence of our interactions with the surrounding space, and show that the knowledge and feelings direct, guide, or limit our spatial behavior and experience. Space matters, or more specifically space we perceive matters. Research into spatial cognition and experience, asking fundamental questions about how and why space and spatiality matters to humans, has thus attracted attention. It is no coincidence that the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for research into a positioning system in the brain or "inner GPS" and that spatial information and technology are recognized as an important social infrastructure in recent years. This is the first book aimed at graduate and advanced undergraduate students pursuing this fascinating area of research. The content introduces the reader to the field of spatial cognition and experience with a series of chapters covering theoretical, empirical, and practical issues, including cognitive maps, spatial orientation, spatial ability and thinking, geospatial information, navigation assistance, and environmental aesthetics.

This book aims to bring to the reader an overview of different applications of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on more than 20 years of experience working on these interfaces. The author provides a review of the human brain and EEG signals, describing the human brain, anatomically and physiologically, with the objective of showing some of the patterns of EEG (electroencephalogram) signals used to control BCIs. It then introduces BCIs and different applications, such as a BCI based on ERD/ERS Patterns in rhythms (used to command a robotic wheelchair with an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) system onboard it); a BCI based on dependent-SSVEP to command the same robotic wheelchair; a BCI based on SSVEP to command a telepresence robot and its onboard AAC system; a BCI based on SSVEP to command an autonomous car; a BCI based on independent-SSVEP (using Depth-of-Field) to command the same robotic wheelchair; the use of compressive technique in SSVEP-based BCI; a BCI based on motor imagery (using different techniques) to command a robotic monocycle and a robotic exoskeleton; and the first steps to build a neurorehabilitation system based on motor imagery of pedalling together an in immersive virtual environment. This book is intended for researchers, professionals and students working on assistive technology.

1) Classic anatomical atlases 2) Detailed labeling of the earliest phases of prenatal neorological development 3) Appeals to neuroanatomists, developmental biologists and clinical practioners. 4) Persistent relevantce - brain development is not going to change.

Some of the brightest minds in criminology who were nurtured on the strictly environmentalist paradigm of the 20th century have declared that biosocial criminology is the paradigm for the 21st century. This book attempts to unite this ever-growing field with the premier neurobiological theory of personality, otherwise known as reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST). Anthony Walsh places the highly variable number of biosocial approaches under a single theoretical umbrella, whilst providing a unique integrative framework. As the leading neurobiological theory of personality and behavior in psychology today, RST focuses around the age-old question of how naturally selfish social animals can achieve their wants and needs without alienating others in their social groups. RST posits that evolution has built into humans three interacting systems: the behavioral approach system; the behavioral inhibition system; and the fight/flight/freeze system. RST identifies the neurobiological and genetic functions underlying each system and has found a cascade of supporting evidence. Throwing new light on many areas of concern to criminologists, such as psychopathy, violence, ADHD, and schizophrenia, this book will be of interest to scholars and upper-level students in the field. Additional features such as Focus Boxes and diagrams delve into measurement techniques and brain areas.

Common sense philosophy holds that widely and deeply held beliefs are justified in the absence of defeaters. While this tradition has always had its philosophical detractors who have defended various forms of skepticism or have sought to develop rival epistemological views, recent advances in several scientific disciplines claim to have debunked the reliability of the faculties that produce our common sense beliefs. At the same time, however, it seems reasonable that we cannot do without common sense beliefs entirely. Arguably, science and the scientific method are built on, and continue to depend on, common sense. This collection of essays debates the tenability of common sense in the face of recent challenges from the empirical sciences. It explores to what extent scientific considerations-rather than philosophical considerations-put pressure on common sense philosophy. The book is structured in a way that promotes dialogue between philosophers and scientists. Noah Lemos, one of the most influential contemporary advocates of the common sense tradition, begins with an overview of the nature and scope of common sense beliefs, and examines philosophical objections to common sense and its relationship to scientific beliefs. Then, the volume features essays by scientists and philosophers of science who discuss various proposed conflicts between commonsensical and scientific beliefs: the reality of space and time, about the nature of human beings, about free will and identity, about rationality, about morality, and about religious belief. Notable philosophers who embrace the common sense tradition respond to these essays to explore the connection between common sense philosophy and contemporary debates in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, physics, and psychology.

From simple reflexes to complex choreographies of movement, all animal behavior is governed by a nervous system. But what kind of government is it-a dictatorship or a democracy? Nervous systems consist of circuits of interconnected nerve cells (neurons) that transmit and receive information via electrical signals. Every moment, each neuron adds up stimulating and inhibiting inputs from many other neurons to determine whether to send an electrical signal to its recipients. Some circuits are dominated by a single "dictator" neuron that gathers information from many sources and then issues commands, such as the Mauthner neuron that triggers escape in fish. In other more "democratic" circuits, such as those mediating eye movements in monkeys, the outcome is determined by a tally of "votes" from a large population of neurons. Rhythmic movements like breathing and locomotion are generated by "government programs" within the central nervous system, but modified by a soup of chemicals and by free market-like feedback from sensory neurons. Nervous systems also use sophisticated surveillance of the surrounding environment and keep track of their own decisions in order to avoid internal conflicts. Nervous systems are not restricted to using one set of procedures at a time. They have evolved over long periods to control behaviors in whichever ways are most effective, and they essentially combine multiple forms of government simultaneously. Engaging and accessible, Governing Behavior explains the variety of structures and strategies that control behavior, while providing an overview of thought-provoking debates and cutting-edge research in neurobiology.

Developed by internationally renowned neurosurgeons, this unique book is designed for students of psychology and the biological sciences, and medical, dental, and nursing students.

Foundations of Sensation and Perception offers a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the science of sensation and perception. It covers all the human senses and answers many questions, such as why movies are so convincing, how ventriloquism works, why things sound different as you get older and why you may feel ill in an aircraft or sea vessel. Full of illustrations and graphs that bring concepts to life, the textbook covers vision, hearing, balance, touch, pain, smell and taste. It discusses each sensory system through its fundamental neuroscience, major perceptual qualities and underlying coding principles. Each chapter includes reflective questions, key terms and information boxes and chapter summaries. Each chapter ends with a tutorial section which introduces more advanced areas of study in an accessible way (including measurement of light and Fourier analysis) as well as topics outside of the mainstream of sensation (including music perception, colour deficiencies and phantom limbs). The fourth edition of this bestselling textbook includes an extensive update of the text to reflect the latest research, a greater focus on balance and the body senses and a major reorganisation of the chapters for ease of use. It will be an invaluable resource for a wide range of undergraduate students in psychology, neuroscience and related disciplines.