Sensory Systems

Description

This book presents an integrative analysis of sensory systems from physiological, psychophysiological, cognitive, network, and pathological perspectives. It examines how physical stimuli are transformed into neural information, encoded by sensory receptors and neuronal populations, integrated within distributed brain networks, and related to perception and cognitive functions.

Classical neurophysiology is combined with the modern network approach. The book analyzes the hierarchical and distributed organization of sensory systems, mechanisms of neural coding, feedback and recurrent processing, functional connectivity, multisensory integration, and structure–function relationships. Psychophysical principles, including Weber’s, Weber–Fechner’s, and Stevens’ laws, are considered in the context of contemporary concepts of sensory information processing.

The cutaneous-mechanical, auditory, visual, gustatory, olfactory, and vestibular systems are examined in detail, from receptor mechanisms and neural pathways to central processing, network organization, cognitive functions, and pathological changes.