The Oxford Handbook of the Auditory Brainstem

The sense of hearing plays an important role in navigating the environment, avoiding predators, finding mates, and communicating with others. To quickly and accurately process the tiny rapid eardrum vibrations that are elicited by sound, mammals and birds evolved a complex network of brain pathways, each of which is specialized to extract certain sound features. This book is a compilation of authoritative chapters, written by leading auditory neuroscientists, summarizing our current knowledge about the anatomy, physiology, and function of the major auditory brainstem pathways. Special emphasis is given to recent progress in understanding the processes and underlying mechanisms by which these pathways are modulated during development and aging. Also included is coverage of pathological conditions, including hearing loss and the perception of phantom sounds.