This book provides an essential overview of the broad range of functional brain imaging techniques, as well as neuroscientific methods suitable for various scientific tasks in fundamental and clinical neuroscience. It also shares information on novel methods in computational neuroscience, mathematical algorithms, image processing, and applications to neuroscience. The mammalian brain is a huge and complex network that consists of billions of neural and glial cells. Decoding how information is represented and processed by this neural network requires the ability to monitor the dynamics of large numbers of neurons at high temporal and spatial resolution over a large part of the brain. Functional brain optical imaging has seen more than thirty years of intensive development. Current light-using methods provide good sensitivity to functional changes through intrinsic contrast and are rapidly exploiting the growing availability of exogenous fluorescence probes. In addition, various types of functional brain optical imaging are now being used to reveal the brain's microanatomy and physiology.

This book offers a unique perspective on the topic of boredom, with chapters written by diverse representatives of various mental health disciplines and philosophical approaches. On one hand, studying boredom involves the mental processes of attention, memory, perception, creativity, or language use; on the other, boredom can be understood by taking into account many pathological conditions such as depression, stress, and anxiety. This book seeks to fill the knowledge gap in research by discussing boredom through an interdisciplinary dialogue, giving a comprehensive overview of the past and current literature within boredom studies, while discussing the neural bases and causes of boredom and its potential consequences and implications for individual and social well-being. Chapters explore the many facets of boredom, including: Understanding the cognitive-affective mechanisms underlying experiences of boredom Philosophical perspectives on boredom, self-consciousness, and narrative How boredom shapes both basic and complex human thoughts, feelings, and behavior Analyzing boredom within Freudian and Lacanian frameworks Boredom Is in Your Mind: A Shared Psychological-Philosophical Approach is a pioneering work that brings together threads of cross-disciplinary boredom research into one comprehensive resource. It is relevant for graduate students and researchers in myriad intersecting disciplines, among them cognitive psychology, cognitive neurosciences, and clinical psychology, as well as philosophy, logic, religion, and other areas of the humanities and social sciences.

This ambitious and important second edition of the Handbook of Medical Neuropsychology takes an in-depth approach to the medical conditions and methods of neurorehabilitation. Comprehensive in scope and highly detailed in its coverage, the second edition, like the first, characterizes the effects of disease and the impact of interventions in the current state of advanced medicine at a level appropriate both for researchers and for clinicians. Featuring the most up-to-date information and quantitative research on cognitive neuroscience of autism, HIV/AIDS, cancer, head injury, respiratory diseases, endocrine diseases, early birth injury, dementia, and other disorders, the book handles theory, historical background, practical considerations, and controversial areas with evidence based disease indicators, clinical expertise, and real-world insight. It seeks to critique diagnostic and assessment tools specific to disorders. The new chapters in this inclusive second edition reflect the changes in prominent problems found in the clinic and provide worthy insights for research investigation in their review of: Substance use disorders. Nutrition in neurocognition and mental health. Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Traumatic brain injury in very early childhood. Cognitive functioning in asthma. The role of mindfulness in neurorehabilitation. The Handbook of Medical Neuropsychology, 2nd Edition continues to be an essential resource for the neuropsychology clinician, researcher, practitioner or graduate student. It will be stimulating and relevant reading for years to come.

Emotions represent a critical aspect of daily life in humans. Our understanding of the mechanisms of regulation of emotions has increased exponentially these last two decades. This book evaluates the contribution of the cerebellum to emotion. It outlines the current clinical, imaging and neurophysiological findings on the role of the cerebellum in key aspects of emotional processing and its influence on motor and cognitive function and social behavior. In the first section, the reader is introduced to the contributions of the cerebellum to various emotion domains, from emotion perception and recognition to transmission and encoding. Subsequent chapters provide a comprehensive picture of the neurophysiology and topography of emotion in the cerebellum and illustrate the convergence of theoretical and empirical research. Additional chapters address the cerebellum's involvement in emotional learning, emotional pain, emotional aspects of body language and perception, and its relations to social cognition including morality, music, and art. Finally, neuropsychiatric aspects of the cerebellum's influence on mood disorders and the current state of therapeutic options, including noninvasive stimulation approaches, complete the overview. This is the first book summarizing the current state of knowledge on the contribution of the cerebellum to important aspects of emotion. It is an essential reference for students, trainees, neuroscientists, researchers, and clinicians in neuroscience, neurology, neurosurgery and psychology involved in the study of emotions. The authors are renowned scientists in the field of cerebellar research.

This book presents several metascientific strategies and explains how they can be used to improve research about the autism spectrum. It begins with an introduction to the field of metascience and the benefits that it brings to academic disciplines and society. It then outlines recommendations that researchers can adopt so that they do not incorporate specious autism research from predatory publishers into their research activities. An introduction to reproducibility and strategies that can improve the reproducibility of autism research are then outlined. This is followed by chapters about improving the peer review process and reducing the prospect of questionable research practices from occurring. This book concludes with a chapter about strategies that researchers can use to improve the participation of autistics in research. Such knowledge will equip academics, regardless of their experience, with the skills and expertise they need to produce high-quality and inclusive research about the autism spectrum.

This important book presents a unique, personal account of the impact a mild traumatic brain injury can have. It tells the story of Pauline, who was 33 when a late football tackle caused a bleed in her brain which went undiscovered for 18 months. The account includes descriptions of hidden symptoms of concussion and post-concussion syndrome, pitfalls in diagnoses, the uneven progress of recovery and the effect of the varied reactions which others have to an acquired brain injury. The author incorporates memories alongside extracts from clinic notes, diary entries and emails to reflect the disjointed progress of diagnosis and recovery as- although similar- no two head injuries are the same. Through this book, the reader gains an appreciation of the confusion experienced by many brain injury survivors, which sheds light on why some may develop unusual behavior or mental health issues, and how such issues can be alleviated. Brain injuries are poorly understood by the general public and this can lead to difficult interactions. Moreover, complications in diagnosis means some may not realize they have this milder form of brain injury. This book will enlighten brain injury survivors and affected families and allow professionals an insight into their patients' experiences. As concerns grow over the risks which contact sports pose, this book shows how even mild brain injuries can wreak havoc with careers, relationships and one's sense of self, but that a happy life can still be found.

• Links the cultural agency of imaginative discourse to its capacity to address, challenge, and evoke a deep sociality characteristic of humans; • Brings together two prominent currents informing contemporary literary theory—affective and neurocognitive-evolutionary literary studies and work calling for renewed attentiveness to ethical and aesthetic qualities in literary works; • Develops and illustrates his arguments through analyses of a wide range of literary works

This is a unique book on the mathematics of signals written for hearing-science researchers. Designed to follow an introductory text on psychoacoustic, Signals, Sound, and Sensation takes the reader through the mathematics of signal processing from its beginnings in the Fourier transform to advanced topics in modulation, dispersion relations, minimum phase systems, sampled data, and nonlinear distortion. While the book is organized like an introductory engineering text on signals, the examples and exercises come from research on the perception of sound. A unique feature of the book is the consistent application of the Fourier transform, which unifies topics as diverse as cochlear filtering and digital recording. More than 250 exercises are included. Many of them are devoted to practical research in perception, while others explore surprising auditory illusions generated by special signals. A working knowledge of elementary calculus is the only prerequisite. Signals, Sound, and Sensation will help readers acquire the quantitative skills they need to solve signal problems that arise in their everyday work. Periodic signals, aperiodic signals, and noise - along with their linear and nonlinear transformations - are covered in detail. More advanced mathematical topics are treated in the appendices. In no other book are signal mathematics and psychoacoustics so neatly intertwined. Researchers and advanced students in the psychology of auditory perception will find this book indispensable.

Originally published in 1992, this is a wide-ranging text concerned with the principles and practice of neuropsychological assessment in adults. It combines a flexible hypothesis testing approach to assessment with information on specialised test batteries. The book covers the major areas of memory, language, perception, attention, and executive dysfunctions, and includes chapters on dementia, alcohol, drug and toxic conditions, stroke and closed head injury. Assessment of dysfunction in cases involving claims for compensation and chapters on specialised assessment techniques, including automated test procedures, are provided. The book presents a sound introduction to this complex area and gives guidelines for the clinician who may need concise information on a specialised topic.

Roughly one of every three Americans has some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including more than 70% of persons older than 75 years of age. Long associated with increased risk for mortality and disability, CVD is also a major risk factor for stroke and cerebrovascular disease. There has been growing consensus that CVD is also an important contributor to poor neurocognitive outcome in own right. Numerous studies now link CVD to accelerated cognitive decline, and structural and functional brain abnormalities, including neurodegnerative conditions in the elderly. While vascular dementia is the most obvious example of severe brain dysfunction directly tied to chronic vascular disease, evidence is also mounting that Alzheimer's disease may be linked to some of the same pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie cardiovascular disease.
This book was written to provide up-to-date insight into these heart-brain connections and the neuropsychology of CVD. Highlights include:

. Controversies in vascular dementia and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI)
. Effects of aging on cerebral hemodynamics and autoregulation
. How blood vessel function contributes to cognitive decline
. Updates on the cognitive impact of cardiosurgical procedures
. Neurocognitive aspects of heart failure
. Neuropsychological evaluation of persons with CVD
. Mechanisms by which neurological changes produce cardiac dysfunction
. Recent findings in the structural and functional neuroimaging in CVD
Both clinicians and researchers in neuropsychology, health psychology, cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, geriatrics and many others will find this book an important resource."

Language Acquisition: The Basics is an accessible introduction to the must-know issues in child language development. Covering key topics drawn from contemporary psychology, linguistics and neuroscience, readers are introduced to fundamental concepts, methods, controversies, and discoveries. It follows the remarkable journey children take; from becoming sensitive to language before birth, to the time they string their first words together; from when they use language playfully, to when they tell stories, hold conversations, and share complex ideas. Using examples from 73 different languages, Ibbotson sets this development in a diverse cross-cultural context, as well as describing the universal psychological foundations that allow language to happen. This book, which includes further reading suggestions in each chapter and a glossary of key terms, is the perfect easy-to-understand introductory text for students, teachers, clinicians or anyone with an interest in language development. Drawing together the latest research on typical, atypical and multilingual development, it is the concise beginner's guide to the field.

* Provides valuable guidance for all student and practising SLTs who are working with older people with communication and swallowing difficulties. * Offers a holistic approach, not only looking at the physiological/biological effects, but taking into account the psychological and social impacts of aging. * Bridges theory and practice, with an emphasis on practical strategies and advice for clinicians to use in their daily work. * Dispels the myths which sound aging (due to a lack of knowledge of what is considered to be within normal range), which can lead to misdiagnosis.

This volume seeks to add a unique perspective on the complex relationship between psychology and politics, focusing on three analytical points of view: 1) psychology, politics, and complex thought, 2) bio/psycho/social factors of masculinity and power, and 3) underlying factors in political behavior. Contributors examine recent political events worldwide through a psychological lens, using interdisciplinary approaches to seek a deeper understanding of contemporary political ideas, psychologies, and behaviors. Finally, the book offers suggestions for surviving and thriving during rapid political change. Among the topics discussed: Biopsychological factors of political beliefs and behaviors Understanding political polarization through a cognitive lens Impact of psychological processes on voter decision making Motivations for believing in conspiracy theories Nonverbal cues in leadership Authoritarian responses to social change The Psychology of Political Behavior in a Time of Change is a timely and insightful volume for students and researchers in psychology, political science, gender studies, business and marketing, and sociology, as well as those working in applied settings: practitioners, government workers, NGOs, corporate organizations.

The discovery of mirror neurons caused a revolution in neuroscience and psychology. Nevertheless, because of their profound impact within life sciences, mirror neuron are still the subject of numerous debates concerning their origins and their functions. With more than 20 years of research in this area, it is timely to synthesise the expanding literature on this topic. 'New frontiers in Mirror Neurons' provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in mirror neurons research - accessible both to experts and to non-experts. In the book, leading scholars draw on the latest research to examine methodological approaches, theoretical implications, and the latest findings on mirror neurons research. A broad range of topics are covered within the book: basic findings and new concepts in action-perception theory, functional properties and evolution, development, and clinical implications. In particular, the last two sections of the book outline the importance of the plasticity and development of the mirror neuron system. This knowledge will be key in future research for helping us understand possible disorders associated with impairments in the mirror neurons system, as well as in helping us design new therapeutic tools for interventions within the field of neurodevelopmental disorders and in neurorehabilitation. 'New Frontiers in Mirror Neurons' is an exciting new work for neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers of mind.

This accessible book provides an overview of fluency disorders. Written by a team of speech language pathology researchers and practitioners in India, it examines the concepts of fluency and dysfluency with illustrative examples in English and Indian languages. Understanding and Managing Fluency Disorders introduces different fluency disorders and gives an overview of current research and the theoretical background. Clinical aspects of each fluency disorder are also described, and the book outlines assessment protocols and intervention methods. Maruthy and Kelkar address the definitions and prevalence of fluency disorders, stuttering assessments as well as acquired neurogenic stuttering. One of the highlights of the book is the chapter dedicated to typical disfluency, which could be of immense use to beginning clinicians who wish to increase the specificity and accuracy of their assessment. Other salient features include case vignettes, activity examples, easy steps to carry out intervention approaches, and the added advantage of an ICF perspective, making this a practitioner's guide to management of fluency disorders. Offering a comprehensive overview of theoretical and clinical aspects of stuttering, cluttering and fluency disorders, this volume will be highly relevant reading for students of fluency disorders and speech and language therapy. It will also provide clinicians and trainees working in the field with up-to-date theoretical and clinical information about assessment and intervention.

This accessible book provides an overview of fluency disorders. Written by a team of speech language pathology researchers and practitioners in India, it examines the concepts of fluency and dysfluency with illustrative examples in English and Indian languages. Understanding and Managing Fluency Disorders introduces different fluency disorders and gives an overview of current research and the theoretical background. Clinical aspects of each fluency disorder are also described, and the book outlines assessment protocols and intervention methods. Maruthy and Kelkar address the definitions and prevalence of fluency disorders, stuttering assessments as well as acquired neurogenic stuttering. One of the highlights of the book is the chapter dedicated to typical disfluency, which could be of immense use to beginning clinicians who wish to increase the specificity and accuracy of their assessment. Other salient features include case vignettes, activity examples, easy steps to carry out intervention approaches, and the added advantage of an ICF perspective, making this a practitioner's guide to management of fluency disorders. Offering a comprehensive overview of theoretical and clinical aspects of stuttering, cluttering and fluency disorders, this volume will be highly relevant reading for students of fluency disorders and speech and language therapy. It will also provide clinicians and trainees working in the field with up-to-date theoretical and clinical information about assessment and intervention.

This handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the theories of cognition and language processing relevant to the field of communication disorders. Thoroughly updated in its second edition, the book explores a range of topics and issues that illustrate the relevance of a dynamic interaction between both theoretical and applied clinical work. Beginning with the origins of language evolution, the authors explore a range of both developmental and acquired communication disorders, reflecting the variety and complexity of psycholinguistics and its role in extending our knowledge of communication disorders. The first part outlines some of the major theoretical approaches from psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience that have been influential in research focusing on clinical populations, while Part 2 features examples from researchers who have applied this body of knowledge to developmental disorders of communication. Part 3 features examples focusing on acquired language disorders, and finally, Part 4 considers psycholinguistic approaches to gesture, sign language, and alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). The new edition features new chapters offering fresh perspectives, further reading recommendations and a new epilogue from Jackie Guendouzi. This valuable text serves as a single interdisciplinary resource for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in cognitive neurosciences, psychology, communication sciences and disorders, as well as researchers new to the field of communication disorders or to psycholinguistic theory.

The present volume aims at presenting a selection of new methods and techniques that may have value for clinical neuropsychology. There is an increasing interest among clinical neuropsychologists regarding new developments in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology. This book presents an updated view of recent methodological developments in experimental psychology and clinical neuroscience.

Our sense of smell, as Trygg Engen reminds us early in this definitive work, has been neglected as a research area. This neglect belies the very critical role that the sense plays in human adaptation to the environment through the monitoring of odors. Smell is learned through experience and results, Engen maintains, in a schema of memory system that enables individuals to process and categorize odors. There are closer relationships between the individual detecting an odor, the circumstances or environment, and the reaction of pleasure or aversion than with the other senses. When future occasions present the same or similar odors, memory will bring back the early experience and directly affect the reaction to the new stimuli. Engen sees odor perception as mainly psychological, unlike the traditional approach which sees the sense largely as an innate mechanism with a direct physiological basis. The research underlying this book is the most current in sensory cognition, reminding the reader of the importance of the sense of smell through examples of what deprivation entails.

The author develops an appreciation of the odor-sensing ability mankind has and explores the uses to which that sense is applied. The ability to relate past to present perception--odor memory--and the gradations of odor impact are discussed, as well as the engaging questions of fragrances effects on behavior, odors and sexuality, mother-infant bonding, and pollution. This book is essential reading for all who work in areas relating to sensory perception and cognition.

Latent Inhibition and Its Neural Substrates describes a neural network model of attentional processes during associative learning, mainly latent inhibition, and shows how variables in the model can be mapped onto different brain regions and neurotransmitters.

The result is a neurophysiological model capable of generating predictions and descriptions of numerous experimental results using latent inhibition, including the effects of brain lesions, drug administration, and the combination of both.

The model also explains the absence of latent inhibition in acute schizophrenia and its reinstatement by the administration of psychotropic drugs.

How much can we learn about normal visual perception and cognition from a malfunctioning visual system? Quite a lot, as Michael McCloskey makes abundantly clear in this book. McCloskey presents his work with AH, a college student who has an extraordinary deficit in visual perception. When AH looks at an object, she sees it clearly and identifies it readily; yet she is often dramatically mistaken about where the object is or how it is oriented. For example, she may reach out to grasp an object that she sees on her left, but miss it completely because it is actually on her right; or she may see an arrow pointing up when it is really pointing down. AH's errors, together with many other clues, lead McCloskey to some very interesting conclusions about how we perceive the world. He develops theoretical claims about visual subsystems, the nature of visual location and orientation representations, attention and spatial representations, the role of the visual system in mental imagery, and the levels of the visual system implicated in awareness. Visual Reflections makes a fascinating and compelling case that we can often learn more about a process when it goes awry than when it functions flawlessly.

Do you want to learn to read people's minds? In this student-friendly, practice-focussed textbook on EEG and biosignal analysis, you will learn how to: Implement your experiment in E-Prime or OpenSesame; Run your study in the psychophysiological laboratory; Analyse data in MATLAB by following simple steps. This textbook follows a unique approach by guiding you through a single EEG study, each part introducing the relevant core knowledge and commonly available software. Practical exercises help you master the skills to independently implement every aspect of an experiment, from setting up the lab to analysing the data. Suitable for developing both basic levels of skill for undergraduates as well as advancing towards a stronger command of analysis and understanding at postgraduate level. Michiel Spape is a Lecturer and Researcher in Psychology at the University of Helsinki.

The purpose of the book is to provide a comprehensive overview of hemispheric differences in sensory and perceptual processing. The first section of the book deals directly with the intra- and inter-hemispheric processing of spatial and temporal frequencies in the visual modality. The second section addresses the initial interaction between sensory and cognitive mechanisms, dealing with how the left and right cerebral hemispheres differ in their computation and representation of sensory information. The third section covers how attentional mechanisms modulate the nature of perceptual processing in the cerebral hemispheres. Section four consists of a single chapter which reviews evidence suggesting a functional linkage between upper and right visual field processing, on the one hand, and lower and left visual field processing on the other.

Do you want to learn to read people's minds? In this student-friendly, practice-focussed textbook on EEG and biosignal analysis, you will learn how to: Implement your experiment in E-Prime or OpenSesame; Run your study in the psychophysiological laboratory; Analyse data in MATLAB by following simple steps. This textbook follows a unique approach by guiding you through a single EEG study, each part introducing the relevant core knowledge and commonly available software. Practical exercises help you master the skills to independently implement every aspect of an experiment, from setting up the lab to analysing the data. Suitable for developing both basic levels of skill for undergraduates as well as advancing towards a stronger command of analysis and understanding at postgraduate level. Michiel Spape is a Lecturer and Researcher in Psychology at the University of Helsinki.