Sensory Systems of Animals: Biology and Behavior

In this textbook, intended for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students, the author describes, in a systematic but engaging way, the sensory systems of humans and other vertebrates, as well as arthropods and molluscs. The emphasis throughout is on research supported by 500 references and 80 illustrations.

Mark Hollins is Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, where he taught undergraduates the Sensation and Perception module for nearly half a decade. His interests are in sensory processes and perception, especially in the senses of vision and touch. Much of his work has focused on control processes, such as binocular rivalry in vision and pain gating in somesthesis, by which some sensory signals are able to amplify or attenuate others. He has also helped to establish that tactile textures are perceived by means of two sensory mechanisms: spatial coding for coarse textures, and vibration coding for fine ones.