"This book is excellent in its coverage of neurobiological underpinnings through perception, measurement, and communication...a great resource for researchers and clinicians." Score: 94, 4 stars. --Doody's Medical Reviews "This is an expertly constructed volume, due mainly to an expert composition of authors forthe individual chapters. Every chapter is like opening a door to a different laboratory, eachexamining a unique corner of the tactile research universe."--PsycCRITIQUES "...a solid, authoritative resource."--New Hampshire Nurses Association Touch has received increased attention over the last few decades, with growing recognition of its profound import to all facets of life. The Handbook of Touch is the first authoritative, state-of-the-art resource for scientists, scholars, and students interested in the neurobehavioral foundations of touch and its many applications. This text provides an in-depth overview of the conceptual and empirical scope of the field. Chapters are written by a cadre of internationally known experts on touch, representing an expansive breadth of knowledge from behavioral, health, and neuroscience disciplines. Key Features: Integrates knowledge regarding the neurobiology of touch, covering the spectrum from skin physiology and somatosensory pathways to touch-related genes and proteins Synthesizes research about the neural processing and perception of touch Describes diverse methods for measuring touch behavior and human response to touch Discusses the role of touch in social communication, along with the influence of context and culture Presents cutting edge research that links touch to brain organization and plasticity, human development, and varied dimensions of health

This book puts a finger on the nerve of culture by delving into the social life of touch, our most elusive yet most vital sense. From the tortures of the Inquisition to the corporeal comforts of modernity, and from the tactile therapies of Asian medicine to the virtual tactility of cyberspace, The Book of Touch offers excursions into a sensory territory both foreign and familiar. How are masculine and feminine identities shaped by touch? What are the tactile experiences of the blind, or the autistic? How is touch developed differently across cultures? What are the boundaries of pain and pleasure? Is there a politics of touch? Bringing together classic writings and new work, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the body, the senses and the experiential world.

An explosion of advances in the area of tactile perception and pain led to the development of this comprehensive, state-of-the-art text on basic research and clinical practice. Equal parts psychology and neuroscience, Pain and Touch covers peripheral cutaneous tactile information processing, sensory mapping, tactile exploratory behavior, neurophysiology of nociception and nociceptors in pain research, clinical scaling methods for psychophysics of pain, and paincontrol, pathology, and therapeutics.

This text combines a practical, hands-on approach to programming with the introduction of sound theoretical support focused on teaching the construction of high-quality software. A major feature of the book is the use of Design by Contract.

The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Perception is a survey by leading philosophical thinkers of contemporary issues and new thinking in philosophy of perception. It includes sections on the history of the subject, introductions to contemporary issues in the epistemology, ontology and aesthetics of perception, treatments of the individual sense modalities and of the things we perceive by means of them, and a consideration of how perceptual information is integrated and consolidated. New analytic tools and applications to other areas of philosophy are discussed in depth. Each of the forty-five entries is written by a leading expert, some collaborating with younger figures; each seeks to introduce the reader to a broad range of issues. All contain new ideas on the topics covered; together they demonstrate the vigour and innovative zeal of a young field. The book is accessible to anybody who has an intellectual interest in issues concerning perception.

Research is suggesting that rather than our senses being independent, perception is fundamentally a multisensory experience. This handbook reviews the evidence and explores the theory of broad underlying principles that govern sensory interactions, regardless of the specific senses involved.

Everyone deserves a happy ending, so go on, give ‘em a hand. Your hands can play a piano concerto, perform surgery, juggle—and give your partner mind-blowing pleasure. If you’re not using your hands to their fullest potential during sex, you are depriving your partner of untold bliss. It’s time to learn how to use your mitts in ways that will have your partner moaning for more. With over fifty ways to stroke, squeeze, and please someone south of the border, and over 100 moves to stimulate other areas of the anatomy from the earlobes to the toes, Red Hot Touch will help you master the techniques that will take your sex life from average to red hot. Inside you’ll find: Techniques for giving your partner an unforgettable orgasm How to use your hands for outstanding oral sex and incredible intercourse Exercises to strengthen the hands and increase your sensitivity Instructions for the world’s hottest massage Recommended lubes and massage oils to relax, stimulate, and seduce A map of the body’s erogenous zones and how to caress, rub, and touch each one for the maximum effect Tools that will triple the fun And much, much more

Since life is a journey, feel free to stop and ask for directions. Previously released as the bestselling The Glorious Journey, this practical volume by Charles Stanley shows readers how to put God's Word to work in their daily lives with this easy-to-apply handbook. As believers, our desire is to follow the Lord more closely and to utilize His Word for maximum impact in our lives. Occasionally, however, we find ourselves not even knowing the questions to ask, or the best way to approach Scripture in search of answers. Charles F. Stanley's Handbook for Christian Living is not a lofty theological work, nor is it an academic commentary. Instead, Dr. Stanley has prepared a friendly, easy-to-use help system for every believer. In this collection, he speaks with authority on such issues as: the real purpose of baptism how to treat others at work a proper view of those in government how grace saves us and how worry robs us what freedom reallly is He also shares biblical insight into relationships, children, parenting, loneliness, sexual pressures, as well as strategies for personal growth. From the thorny issues of daily life to a framework for the end times (and everything in between), Charles F. Stanley's Handbook for Christian brings Scripture to life, makes sense of the hard questions, and enhances your understanding of the way life was meant to be lived.

The second edition of an essential resource to the evolving field of developmental cognitive neuroscience, completely revised, with expanded emphasis on social neuroscience, clinical disorders, and imaging genomics. The publication of the second edition of this handbook testifies to the rapid evolution of developmental cognitive neuroscience as a distinct field. Brain imaging and recording technologies, along with well-defined behavioral tasks—the essential methodological tools of cognitive neuroscience—are now being used to study development. Technological advances have yielded methods that can be safely used to study structure-function relations and their development in children's brains. These new techniques combined with more refined cognitive models account for the progress and heightened activity in developmental cognitive neuroscience research. The Handbook covers basic aspects of neural development, sensory and sensorimotor systems, language, cognition, emotion, and the implications of lifelong neural plasticity for brain and behavioral development. The second edition reflects the dramatic expansion of the field in the seven years since the publication of the first edition. This new Handbook has grown from forty-one chapters to fifty-four, all original to this edition. It places greater emphasis on affective and social neuroscience—an offshoot of cognitive neuroscience that is now influencing the developmental literature. The second edition also places a greater emphasis on clinical disorders, primarily because such research is inherently translational in nature. Finally, the book's new discussions of recent breakthroughs in imaging genomics include one entire chapter devoted to the subject. The intersection of brain, behavior, and genetics represents an exciting new area of inquiry, and the second edition of this essential reference work will be a valuable resource for researchers interested in the development of brain-behavior relations in the context of both typical and atypical development.

Why we need a daily dose of touch: an investigation of the effects of touch on our physical and mental well-being. Although the therapeutic benefits of touch have become increasingly clear, American society, claims Tiffany Field, is dangerously touch-deprived. Many schools have “no touch” policies; the isolating effects of Internet-driven work and life can leave us hungry for tactile experience. In this book Field explains why we may need a daily dose of touch. The first sensory input in life comes from the sense of touch while a baby is still in the womb, and touch continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy and well into childhood. Touch is critical, too, for adults' physical and mental health. Field describes studies showing that touch therapy can benefit everyone, from premature infants to children with asthma to patients with conditions that range from cancer to eating disorders. This second edition of Touch, revised and updated with the latest research, reports on new studies that show the role of touch in early development, in communication (including the reading of others' emotions), in personal relationships, and even in sports. It describes the physiological and biological effects of touch, including areas of the brain affected by touch, and the effects of massage therapy on prematurity, attentiveness, depression, pain, and immune functions. Touch has been shown to have positive effects on growth, brain waves, breathing, and heart rate, and to decrease stress and anxiety. As Field makes clear, we enforce our society's touch taboo at our peril.