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Author: A. S. Barwich Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674983696 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 385
Book Description
A pioneering exploration of olfaction that upsets settled notions of how the brain translates sensory information. Decades of cognition research have shown that external stimuli “spark” neural patterns in particular regions of the brain. This has fostered a view of the brain as a space that we can map: here the brain responds to faces, there it perceives a sensation in your left hand. But it turns out that the sense of smell—only recently attracting broader attention in neuroscience—doesn’t work this way. A. S. Barwich asks a deceptively simple question: What does the nose tell the brain, and how does the brain understand it? Barwich interviews experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery in an effort to understand the biological mechanics and myriad meanings of odors. She argues that it is time to stop recycling ideas based on the paradigm of vision for the olfactory system. Scents are often fickle and boundless in comparison with visual images, and they do not line up with well-defined neural regions. Although olfaction remains a puzzle, Barwich proposes that what we know suggests the brain acts not only like a map but also as a measuring device, one that senses and processes simple and complex odors. Accounting for the sense of smell upsets theories of perception philosophers have developed. In their place, Smellosophy articulates a new model for understanding how the brain represents sensory information.
Author: A. S. Barwich Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674983696 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 385
Book Description
A pioneering exploration of olfaction that upsets settled notions of how the brain translates sensory information. Decades of cognition research have shown that external stimuli “spark” neural patterns in particular regions of the brain. This has fostered a view of the brain as a space that we can map: here the brain responds to faces, there it perceives a sensation in your left hand. But it turns out that the sense of smell—only recently attracting broader attention in neuroscience—doesn’t work this way. A. S. Barwich asks a deceptively simple question: What does the nose tell the brain, and how does the brain understand it? Barwich interviews experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery in an effort to understand the biological mechanics and myriad meanings of odors. She argues that it is time to stop recycling ideas based on the paradigm of vision for the olfactory system. Scents are often fickle and boundless in comparison with visual images, and they do not line up with well-defined neural regions. Although olfaction remains a puzzle, Barwich proposes that what we know suggests the brain acts not only like a map but also as a measuring device, one that senses and processes simple and complex odors. Accounting for the sense of smell upsets theories of perception philosophers have developed. In their place, Smellosophy articulates a new model for understanding how the brain represents sensory information.
Author: A. S. Barwich Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674245407 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 385
Book Description
An NRC Handelsblad Book of the Year “Offers rich discussions of olfactory perception, the conscious and subconscious impacts of smell on behavior and emotion.” —Science Decades of cognition research have shown that external stimuli “spark” neural patterns in particular regions of the brain. We think of the brain as a space we can map: here it responds to faces, there it perceives a sensation. But the sense of smell—only recently attracting broader attention in neuroscience—doesn’t work this way. So what does the nose tell the brain, and how does the brain understand it? A. S. Barwich turned to experts in neuroscience, psychology, chemistry, and perfumery in an effort to understand the mechanics and meaning of odors. She discovered that scents are often fickle, and do not line up with well-defined neural regions. Upending existing theories of perception, Smellosophy offers a new model for understanding how the brain senses and processes odors. “A beguiling analysis of olfactory experience that is fast becoming a core reference work in the field.” —Irish Times “Lively, authoritative...Aims to rehabilitate smell’s neglected and marginalized status.” —Wall Street Journal “This is a special book...It teaches readers a lot about olfaction. It teaches us even more about what philosophy can be.” —Times Literary Supplement
Author: Larry E. Shiner Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0190089814 Category : Aesthetics Languages : en Pages : 373
Book Description
"An overview of the aesthetic and ethical issues raised by the contemporary olfactory arts, which range from gallery and museum sculptures and installations, through the enhancement of theatre, film and music with scents, to the ambient scenting of stores and avant-garde chefs' use of scents in cuisine. Special attention is given to the aesthetics of perfume and incense and the question of their art status, as well as to the role of scent in the appreciation of nature and gardens. Ethical issues are discussed regarding ambient scenting, perfume wearing, and the use of smells in fast-food marketing. Because of the traditional neglect and denigration of the sense of smell and its aesthetic potential by philosophers from Kant and Hegel to the present, and by Darwin's and Freud's view of the human sense of smell as a near useless evolutionary vestige, the first parts of the book counter that tradition with both philosophical arguments and evidence from current evolutionary theory, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, history, linguistics and literature. Although the focus is on Western olfactory arts, the book draws on non-Western examples throughout. The book is aimed at both philosophers and general readers interested in the arts, and develops positions that should stimulate further discussion"--
Author: Alain Berthoz Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674088956 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
Groping around a familiar room in the dark, relearning to read after a brain injury, navigating a virtual landscape through an avatar: all are expressions of vicariance—when the brain substitutes one process or function for another. Alain Berthoz shows that this capacity allows humans to think creatively in an increasingly complex world.
Author: Paolo Pelosi Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198719051 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 288
Book Description
In humans, the perception of odours adds a fourth dimension to life, from the scent of flowers, the aroma of foods, and all the subtle smells in the environment. But how many types of odours can we distinguish? Why do we like the food we like? Which are the most powerful odorants, and how well does the human sense of smell perform compared with that of a dog or a butterfly? The sense of smell is highly complex, and such complexity discouraged scientists for a long time, leaving the world of smell in an atmosphere of mystery. Only recently, thanks to the new tools furnished by molecular biology and neuroscience, are we beginning to answer these questions, uncovering the hidden secrets of our sense of smell, and decoding the language used by most animals to communicate. In this book, Paolo Pelosi, one of the leading figures in the development of the science of olfaction, recounts how the chemical alphabet behind smell has been pieced together over the past three decades. Drawing on anecdotes from his own scientific career, and celebrating the rich variety of smells from herbs to flowers to roast coffee and freshly baked bread, he weaves together an engaging and remarkable account of the science behind the most elusive of our senses.
Author: Jennifer M. Groh Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674863216 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 265
Book Description
Knowing where things are seems effortless. Yet our brains devote tremendous power to figuring out simple details about spatial relationships. Jennifer Groh traces this mental detective work to show how the brain creates our sense of location, and makes the case that the brain’s systems for thinking about space may be the systems of thought itself.
Author: John S. Allen Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674069870 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 268
Book Description
In this gustatory tour of human history, John S. Allen demonstrates that the everyday activity of eating offers deep insights into human beings’ biological and cultural heritage. We humans eat a wide array of plants and animals, but unlike other omnivores we eat with our minds as much as our stomachs. This thoughtful relationship with food is part of what makes us a unique species, and makes culinary cultures diverse. Not even our closest primate relatives think about food in the way Homo sapiens does. We are superomnivores whose palates reflect the natural history of our species. Drawing on the work of food historians and chefs, anthropologists and neuroscientists, Allen starts out with the diets of our earliest ancestors, explores cooking’s role in our evolving brain, and moves on to the preoccupations of contemporary foodies. The Omnivorous Mind delivers insights into food aversions and cravings, our compulsive need to label foods as good or bad, dietary deviation from “healthy” food pyramids, and cross-cultural attitudes toward eating (with the French, bien sûr, exemplifying the pursuit of gastronomic pleasure). To explain, for example, the worldwide popularity of crispy foods, Allen considers first the food habits of our insect-eating relatives. He also suggests that the sound of crunch may stave off dietary boredom by adding variety to sensory experience. Or perhaps fried foods, which we think of as bad for us, interject a frisson of illicit pleasure. When it comes to eating, Allen shows, there’s no one way to account for taste.
Author: Avery Gilbert Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN: 9781505442878 Category : Nose Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Everything about the sense of smell fascinates us, from its power to evoke memories to its ability to change our moods and influence our behavior. Yet because it is the least understood of the senses, myths abound. For example, contrary to popular belief, the human nose is almost as sensitive as the noses of many animals, including dogs; blind people do not have enhanced powers of smell; and perfumers excel at their jobs not because they have superior noses, but because they have perfected the art of thinking about scents. In this entertaining and enlightening journey through the world of aroma, olfaction expert Avery Gilbert illuminates the latest scientific discoveries and offers keen observations on modern culture: how a museum is preserving the smells of John Steinbeck's Cannery Row; why John Waters revived the "smellie" in Polyester; and what innovations are coming from artists like the Dutch "aroma jockey" known as Odo7. From brain-imaging laboratories to the high-stakes world of scent marketing, What the Nose Knows takes us on a tour of the strange and surprising realm of smell.
Author: Sheila T. Cavanagh Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1350296449 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 289
Book Description
How can theatre and Shakespearean performance be used with different communities to assist personal growth and development, while advancing social justice goals? Employing an integrative approach that draws from science, actor training, therapeutical practices and current research on the senses, this study reveals the work being done by drama practitioners with a range of specialized populations, such as incarcerated people, neurodiverse individuals, those with physical or emotional disabilities, veterans, people experiencing homelessness and many others. With insights drawn from visits to numerous international programs, it argues that these endeavors succeed when they engage multiple human senses and incorporate kinesthetic learning, thereby tapping into the diverse benefits associated with artistic, movement and mindfulness practices. Neither theatre nor Shakespeare is universally beneficial, but the syncretic practices described in this book offer tools for physical, emotional and collaborative undertakings that assist personal growth and development, while advancing social justice goals. Among the practitioners and companies whose work is examined here are programs from the Shakespeare in Prison Network, the International Opera Theater, Blue Apple Theatre, Flute Theatre, DeCruit and Feast of Crispian programs for veterans, Extant Theatre and prison programs in Kolkata and Mysore, India.
Author: A. S. Barwich
Author: A. S. Barwich
Author: A. S. Barwich
Author: Larry E. Shiner
Author: Alain Berthoz
Author: Paolo Pelosi
Author: Jennifer M. Groh
Author: John S. Allen
Author: Avery Gilbert
Author: John Bickle
Author: Sheila T. Cavanagh