Synthesizing coverage of sensation and reward into a comprehensive systems overview, Neurobiology of Sensation and Reward presents a cutting-edge and multidisciplinary approach to the interplay of sensory and reward processing in the brain. While over the past 70 years these areas have drifted apart, this book makes a case for reuniting sensation and reward by highlighting the important links and interface between the two.
Emphasizing the role of reward in reinforcing behaviors, the book begins with an exploration of the history, ecology, and evolution of sensation and reward. Progressing through the five senses, contributors explore how the brain extracts information from sensory cues. The chapter authors examine how different animal species predict rewards, thereby integrating sensation and reward in learning, focusing on effects in anatomy, physiology, and behavior.
Features
- Synthesizes cutting-edge research by leading investigators in the neurobiology of sensation and reward
- Introduces sensation and reward from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes biology, ecology, evolution, and the history of neuroscience
- Presents critical links between basic and clinical neuroscience through the latest behavioral and pathological findings in humans with behavioral and cognitive impairments in sensation and reward processing
- Explores non-human and human brains, and the very human rewards of art, perfume, and music
- Discusses how the processing of sensory rewards benefits from the presence of a brain
Drawing on empirical research, contributors build on the themes of the book to present insights into the human sensory rewards of perfume, art, and music, setting the scene for further cross-disciplinary collaborations that bridge the neurobiological interface between sensation and reward.