This volume covers a broad range of current research topics addressing the function of visuospatial attention and working memory. It discusses a variety of perspectives ranging from evolutionary and genetic underpinnings to neural substrates/computational processes and the connection between attention and working memory. Contributions address the topic at the molecular, system and evolutionary scales and will be of interest to a range of audiences from animal behaviour specialists, experimental psychologists to clinicians in the field of psychiatry and neurology.

Offering a new template for future exploration, Susan Greenwood examines and develops the notion that the experience of magic is a panhuman orientation of consciousness, a form of knowledge largely marginalized in Western societies. In this volume she aims to form a "bridge of communication" between indigenous magical or shamanic worldviews and rationalized Western cultures. She outlines an alternative mythological framework for the latter to help develop a magical perception, as well as giving practical case studies derived from her own research. The form of magic discussed here is not fantastic or virtual, but ecological and sensory. Magical knowledge infiltrates the body in its deepest levels of the subconscious, and unconscious, as well as conscious awareness; it is felt and understood through the connection with an inspirited world that includes the consciousness of other beings, including those of plant, animal and the physical environment. This is anthropology from the heart rather than the head, and it engages with the messy area of emotions, an embodiment of the senses, and struggles to find a common language of listening to one another across a void of differences. The aim is to provide a non-reductive structure for the creative interplay of both magical and analytical modes of thought. Passion is a motivator for change, and a change in attitude to magic as an integrative force of human understanding is the main thread of this work.

This work is an eagerly awaited account of this momentous and ongoing revolution, elaborated for the general reader by two pioneers of the field. The book takes the nonspecialist reader on a guided tour through the exciting new discoveries, pointing out along the way how old psychodynamic concepts are being forged into a new scientific framework fo

Clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists are traditionally taught that cognition is mediated by the cortex and that subcortical brain regions mediate the coordination of movement. However, this argument can easily be challenged based upon the anatomic organization of the brain. The relationship between the prefrontal cortex/frontal lobes and basal ganglia is characterized by loops from these anterior brain regions to the striatum, the globus pallidus, and the thalamus, and then back to the frontal cortex. There is also a cerebrocerebellar system defined by projections from the cerebral cortex to the pontine nuclei, to the cerebellar cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei, to the red nucleus and then back to thalamus and cerebral cortex, including all regions of the frontal lobes. Therefore, both the cortical-striatal and cortical-cerebellar projections are anatomically defined as re-entrant systems that are obviously in a position to influence not only motor behavior, but also cognition and affect. This represents overwhelming evidence based upon neuroanatomy alone that subcortical regions play a role in cognition. The first half of this book defines the functional neuroanatomy of cortical-subcortical circuitries and establishes that since structure is related to function, what the basal ganglia and cerebellum do for movement they also do for cognition and emotion.

The second half of the book examines neuropsychological assessment. Patients with lesions restricted to the cerebellum and/or basal ganglia have been described as exhibiting a variety of cognitive deficits on neuropsychological tests. Numerous investigations have demonstrated that higher-level cognitive functions such as attention, executive functioning, language, visuospatial processing, and learning and memory are affected by subcortical pathologies. There is also considerable evidence that the basal ganglia and cerebellum play a critical role in the regulation of affect and emotion. These brain regions are an integral part of the brain s executive system. The ability to apply new methodologies clinically is essential in the evaluation of disorders with subcortical pathology, including various developmental disorders (broadly defined to include learning disorders and certain psychiatric conditions), for the purpose of gaining greater understanding of these conditions and developing appropriate methodologies for treatment.

The book is organized around three sources of evidence:

1. neuroanatomical connections;
2. patients with various disease processes;
3. experimental studies, including various imaging techniques.

These three sources of data present compelling evidence that the basal ganglia and cerebellum are involved in cognition, affect, and emotion. The question is no longer if these subcortical regions are involved in these processes, but instead, how they are involved. The book is also organized around two basic concepts: (1) the functional neuroanatomy of the basal ganglia and the cerebellum; and (2) how this relates to behavior and neuropsychological testing.

Cognitive neuroscience is entering a new era as we recognize the roles of subcortical structures in the modulation of cognition. The fields of neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychiatry, and neurology are all developing in the direction of understanding the roles of subcortical structures in behavior. This book is informative while defining the need and direction for new paradigms and methodologies for neuropsychological assessment. "

This book provides an overview of attentional impairments in brain-damaged patients from both clinical and neuroscientific perspectives, and aims to offer a comprehensive, succinct treatment of these topics useful to both clinicians and scholars. A main focus of the book concerns left visual neglect, a dramatic but often overlooked consequence of right hemisphere damage, usually of vascular origin, but also resulting from other causes such as neurodegenerative conditions. The study of neglect offers a key to understand the brain's functioning at the level of large-scale networks, and not only based on discrete anatomical structures. Patients are often unaware of their deficits (anosognosia), and often obstinately deny being hemiplegic. Diagnosis is important because neglect predicts poor functional outcome in stroke. Moreover, effective rehabilitation strategies are available, and there are promising possibilities for pharmacological treatments. Attention Disorders After Right Brain Damage is aimed at clinical neurologists, medics in physical medicine and rehabilitation, clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists. It will also be useful for graduate students and medical students who wish to understand the topic of attention systems and improve their knowledge of the neurocognitive mechanisms of attentional deficits. In addition, clinical researchers in neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience will find in this book an up to date overview of current research dealing with the attention systems of the human brain.

Understanding Tourette Syndrome provides accessible, concise, evidence-based guidelines on this neurodevelopmental disorder, offering parents and professionals a deeper scientific understanding of the condition and its consequences. Zanaboni Dina and Porta explore signs, symptoms and treatment of the disease, with the aim of demonstrating to all those involved in the life of a TS child solutions to manage a range of situations from diagnosis to day-to-day life. Therapies and social intervention, including Habit Reversal Training and Deep Brain Stimulation, are described, allowing caregivers to evaluate the best course of treatment. With a focus on improving quality of life by offering practical recommendations for managing the condition at school and in the family, it places additional emphasis on sibling relationships and the importance of childhood friendship. The authors' expert subject knowledge and extensive experience of working with children and families, makes the topic accessible for any reader, and case studies demonstrate how to apply scientific understanding of the condition to a real-life situation. This unique guide is essential reading for parents and carers, as well as practitioners in Clinical and Educational Psychology, Counselling, Mental Health, Nursing, Child Welfare, Public Healthcare and those in Education. It will also be of interest to postgraduates studying courses in Psychology, Neurology and Psychiatry.

Many parts of the athlete's body are important for performance, such as strong muscles and bones; healthy lungs and heart; and several sensory systems, including the vision, touch, and joint position senses, and the vestibular system for balance. However, the critical element for athletic performance is, "not what you have but how you use it." The organ that decides "how you use it" is the brain. This book explains how the brain allows the athlete to perform. The book starts with an outline of brain anatomy, which is necessary to understand how the brain functions. The book then outlines many critical aspects of the athlete's brain, including learning motor skills; decision-making; hand preference; visual perception of speed, distance, and direction; balance; emotions and mood. Finally, the book discusses the adverse influence of brain injuries.

Pete, Jem and Belle play hide and seek. Pete has a very good hiding spot - will they ever find him? Targeting Subject-Verb-Object sentences and prepositions, this book provides repeated examples of early developing syntax and morphology which will engage and excite the reader while building pre-literacy skills and make learning fun, as well as exposing children to multiple models of the target grammar form. Perfect for a speech and language therapy session, this book is an ideal starting point for targeting client goals and can also be enjoyed at school or home to reinforce what has been taught in the therapy session.

Available for the first time in English! Winner of the Prix Medicis Essai! Marginalized by the scientific age with its metaphysical and philosophical systems, the lessons of the senses have been overtaken by the dominance of language and the information revolution. Exploring the deleterious effects of the systematic downgrading of the senses in Western philosophy, Michel Serres - a member of the Academie Francaise and one of France's leading philosophers - traces a topology of human perception. Writing against the Cartesian tradition and in praise of empiricism, he demonstrates repeatedly, and lyrically, the sterility of systems of knowledge divorced from bodily experience. The fragile empirical world, long resistant to our attempts to contain and catalog it, is disappearing beneath the relentless accumulations of late capitalist society and information technology. Data has replaced sensory pleasure, we are less interested in the taste of a fine wine than in the description on the bottle's label. What are we, and what do we really know, when we have forgotten that our senses can describe a taste more accurately than language ever could?

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for acting on behalf of individuals who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. The Mental Capacity Casebook showcases numerous real-life case studies in accordance to this Act. Through the exploration of various mental capacity assessments, this book highlights the psychological needs of the individuals who are supported and protected by the MCA. Dr. Tracey Ryan-Morgan, a Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, is the first to bridge the gap between the individual's psychological requirements and the legal framework surrounding them. Not only does this book present true, often complex, mental capacity assessments, it does so with legitimate corresponding commentaries. Each case outlines the presented problem along with its background, social context, psychological matters, the overriding opinion and concluding learning points. This book provides a unique standpoint, offering insight into the complexities of the Act and practical guidance on how to conduct assessments. It serves as essential reading for those looking for guidance whilst making complex capacity decisions, such as Clinical Neuropsychologists, Social Workers, and Legal Professionals.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for acting on behalf of individuals who lack the capacity to make decisions for themselves. The Mental Capacity Casebook showcases numerous real-life case studies in accordance to this Act. Through the exploration of various mental capacity assessments, this book highlights the psychological needs of the individuals who are supported and protected by the MCA. Dr. Tracey Ryan-Morgan, a Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist, is the first to bridge the gap between the individual's psychological requirements and the legal framework surrounding them. Not only does this book present true, often complex, mental capacity assessments, it does so with legitimate corresponding commentaries. Each case outlines the presented problem along with its background, social context, psychological matters, the overriding opinion and concluding learning points. This book provides a unique standpoint, offering insight into the complexities of the Act and practical guidance on how to conduct assessments. It serves as essential reading for those looking for guidance whilst making complex capacity decisions, such as Clinical Neuropsychologists, Social Workers, and Legal Professionals.

Based on the Annual Symposium of the Jean Piaget Society, Biology and Knowledge Revisited focuses on the classic issue of the relationship between nature and nurture in cognitive and linguistic development, and their neurological substrates.

Contributors trace the history of ideas concerning the relationship between evolution and development, and bring powerful new conceptual systems and research data to bear on understanding the problem of experience-contingent brain development and evolution. They focus on processes of phenotype construction - which fill the gap between genes and behavior - and demonstrate that evolutionary psychological models of innate mental modules are incompatible with what is known about these processes. This book presents exciting new approaches to the development and evolution of cognitive and linguistic abilities.

Returning to the broad evolutionary theme of a previous meeting, the symposium focused on specifically constructivist approaches to neurogenesis and language acquisition, and their evolution. It was organized around ideas about the relationship between development and evolution raised in Piaget's books. Research in this arena has yielded cutting-edge insight into behavioral influences on brain plasticity.

Two of its subthemes run throughout - a critique of modularity models popular among evolutionary psychologies and the prescient yet flawed nature of Piaget's critique of the modern synthesis of evolution. As a result, Biology and Knowledge Revisited is intended for developmental psychologists, psycholinguists, biological anthropologists, evolutionary psychologists, and philosophers of science.

This book, the second of three volumes, concentrates on peripheral nervous system disorders. Examining the effects of neurotoxicants on nerve, muscle and the neuromuscular junction, it builds on the scientific principles outlined in volume 1 by looking at the application of the methods discussed, particularly in terms of the evaluation and diagnosis of individual patients and the related process of establishing causation. Neurobehavorial Toxicology, Volume 2 will be of interest to practicing neurologists and neuropsychologists, as well as to occupational medicine physicians and medical toxicologists.

Understanding Psychopathy is an essential, accessible new guide on psychopathy and its development. Through the lens of the biopsychosocial model, Thomson explores a wide range of factors contributing to the development of psychopathy, from the genetic to the environmental, supported by the latest research into the disorder. Thomson examines psychopathy from all angles, analysing social, psychological and biological factors, in addition to the history and assessment of psychopathy, and links to violent crime. Theory and research are supported throughout with fascinating case studies. These case studies provide accessible and relevant examples for readers who are new to the field, and to those more familiar with psychopathy and its implications. Understanding Psychopathy is a brilliant resource for psychology students, researchers and practitioners in the criminal justice system alike, with grounding in forensic psychology, clinical psychology and criminology. The author is donating his royalties in full to Project EMPOWER, UK, a multidisciplinary initiative dedicated to enhancing prevention and intervention services to individuals and their families who experience intimate partner violence, sexual violence, domestic violence, or human trafficking.

Originally published in 1987, this book, attempted to bring together work by researchers concerned with the functional and neurological mechanisms underlying visual object processing, and the ways in which such mechanisms can be neurologically impaired. The editors termed it a 'Cognitive Neuropsychological' approach, because they believed it tried to relate evidence from neurological impairments of visual object processing to models of normal performance in a new and important way. Two broad aims are apparent. One is to test models of normal performance by evaluating how well the models account for the patterns of impairment and preservation of abilities that can occur following brain damage. The other is to use models of normal performance to further their understanding of acquired disorders of visual object processing. These aims distinguish the approach from neuropsychological work whose primary aim is to relate acquired deficits to the sites of damage, and from work in the field of cognitive psychology which attempts only to develop models of normal performance.

Understanding Psychopathy is an essential, accessible new guide on psychopathy and its development. Through the lens of the biopsychosocial model, Thomson explores a wide range of factors contributing to the development of psychopathy, from the genetic to the environmental, supported by the latest research into the disorder. Thomson examines psychopathy from all angles, analysing social, psychological and biological factors, in addition to the history and assessment of psychopathy, and links to violent crime. Theory and research are supported throughout with fascinating case studies. These case studies provide accessible and relevant examples for readers who are new to the field, and to those more familiar with psychopathy and its implications. Understanding Psychopathy is a brilliant resource for psychology students, researchers and practitioners in the criminal justice system alike, with grounding in forensic psychology, clinical psychology and criminology. The author is donating his royalties in full to Project EMPOWER, UK, a multidisciplinary initiative dedicated to enhancing prevention and intervention services to individuals and their families who experience intimate partner violence, sexual violence, domestic violence, or human trafficking.

Originally published in 1989, this sourcebook for anatomic studies in the neuropsychology of visual perception contains chapters on disorders of visual agnosias, impaired object perception and spatial neglect, and abnormal visual imagery. The neurological basis of visual perception and the disorders that result from brain damage are discussed. At the time the chapters in this volume constituted a state of the art survey in this area and provided data that were essential for the development of models of normal image and object formation.

Originally published in 1982, the editors felt that their field was clearly in need of explanatory accounts for many different areas. This volume presents statements of the status of research in several areas by scholars at the forefront of the discipline. It tries at the same time to juxtapose theoretical and experimental perspectives in order to display some of the major lines of tension in the field. Divided into 5 parts it covers: Theoretical Perspectives; Experimental Studies in Processing; Neuropsychological Studies in Processing; Studies in Development; followed by Commentary on some specific chapters.

This volume reflects the pressure to develop useful models and methodologies to study executive behaviour - the ability to update information in working memory in order to control selective attention to formulate plans of action and to monitor their efficient execution. Many models are based on the concept of a single "central executive" that manges these functions; others propose a number of independent "working memory systems" that each serve one task or activity but not others.; This book is a collection of essays by active researchers who discuss their own work on the definition of "executive" or "controlled" behaviours, and on the relation of these behaviours to specific areas of the frontal cortex. The papers are particularly concerned with logical difficulties that arise in defining these functions that lead, in turn, to methodological difficulties in studying them. In particular, they discuss such problems as the low test-re-test reliability of tasks that have been used to define and explore "executive" behaviours, the limited validity of these tasks in predicting performance deficits, the poor localization of the changes observed with respect to underlying brain function, and the relation of performance on these tasks to individual difference in performance on measures of "global" or "general" intellectual ability such as Spearman's 1927 gf.; The authors discuss their own research on the relations between cognitive function and neuropsychology, on changes in executive competence in conditions such as closed head injuries or dementias that may diffusely affect the whole brain, and on changes in executive function in normal old age.

The papers in this volume consider the role of sensory-motor processes and their neural structures in higher cognitive functions such as visual and motor imagery, iconic memory and temporal judgment. The evidence brought to bear on this issue comes from behavioral studies of brain-damaged subjects and fMRI and TMS studies with normal subjects. The issue also includes several theoretical reviews and discussions.

This treatise is to give the public a much needed understanding of those factors in everyday living which on the one hand tend toward nervous weakness, and on the other make for personal power. From the author's viewpoint, everybody at times suffers from symptoms which are popularly termed "nervous," for nervousness is a matter of degree rather than kind. Whether "nerves" take the form of unreasonable impulsiveness or of serious obsessions occasioning body pain, the fundamental cause and radical cure of both are essentially the same.

This title was first published in 1981.

A recent study indicates that 20 million people in the United States have significant sensorineural hearing loss. Approximately 95% of those people have partial losses, with varying degrees of residual hearing. These percentages are similar in other developed countries. What changes in the function of the cochlea or inner ear cause such losses? What does the world sound like to the 19 million people with residual hearing? How should we transform sounds to correct for the hearing loss and maximize restoration of normal hearing? Answers to such questions require detailed models of the way that sounds are processed by the nervous system, both for listeners with normal hearing and for those with sensorineural hearing loss. This book contains chapters describing the work of 25 different research groups. A great deal of research in recent years has been aimed at obtaining a better physiological description of the altered processes that cause sensorineural hearing loss and a better understanding of transformations that occur in the perception of those sounds that are sufficiently intense that they can still be heard. Efforts to understand these changes in function have lead to a better understanding of normal function as well. This research has been based on rigorous mathematical models, computer simulations of mechanical and physiological processes, and signal processing simulations of the altered perceptual experience of listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. This book provides examples of all these approaches to modeling sensorineural hearing loss and a summary of the latest research in the field.

To understand mental function, we need to uncover the representations and processes underlying our ability to comprehend and to produce words, sentences,numbers and objects (or pictures of them). The unique contribution of the field of cognitive neuropsychology is the investigation of these representations and processes in individuals who have sustained selective brain damage. Indeed, studies of such individuals provide a window into the mental system and allow us to explore the functional architecture that is necessary and sufficient for cognition. This special issue of Cognitive Neuropsychology is a collection of papers that exemplifies this type of cognitive neuropsychology research. The special issue is designed to honour and pay tribute to Eleanor M. Saffran, one of the pioneers of this discipline, who adopted this approach in her wide-ranging investigations of individuals with cognitive impairment following brain damage. The papers included in this collection all explore issues concerning behavioural and neural mechanisms mediating cognition and are divided into four separate sections. Two of these focus on language, with the emphasis of the first on single word recognition and the second on processes that are invoked beyond the single word level. Conceptual and semantic processes are covered in a third section and the final section is concerned with issues related to more peripheral processes, which, when impaired, give rise to alexia, agnosia and/or agraphia. This extensive collection of papers represents a comprehensive overview of the current state of the field and the papers elucidate the most recent findings in the domain of cognitive neuropsychology.

In all cognitive domains, neuropsychological research has advanced through the study of individual patients, and detailed observations and descriptions of their cases have been the backbone of medical and scientific reports for centuries. Cases of Amnesia describes some of the most important single case studies in the history of memory, as well as new case studies of amnesic patients. It highlights the major contribution they make to our understanding of human memory and neuropsychology. Written by world-leading researchers and considering the latest theory and techniques in the field, each case study provides a description of the patient's history, how their memory was assessed and what conclusions can be made in relation to cognitive models of memory. Edited by Sarah E. MacPherson and Sergio Della Sala, Cases of Amnesia is a must read for researchers and clinicians in neuropsychology, cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.