Book excerpt: Contributions to Sensory Physiology, Volume 7, was published with two principal objectives in mind: (1) to bring together reports of current research on all of the sensory systems; and (2) to provide an opportunity for the scientist studying a sensory system to give a detailed account of a series of experiments or to present, at some length, a theory about the physiological basis of sensation. The book contains six chapters and opens with a summary of neuroanatomical studies which show that the cochlear nucleus is the origin of several distinct fiber pathways which have differing fiber diameters, routes, and terminations in more central nuclei of the auditory system. Subsequent chapters deal with the optic chiasm of the vertebrate brain; the morphological basis of orientation selectivity; visual control of movement; visual functions in monkeys following removal of visual cerebral cortex; and subdivisions in sensory systems. It is the hope of the editor and publisher that this serial publication will provide better communication among those who study sensory systems and that it will also be a valuable source of information for scientists from other fields who occasionally seek a representative sample of research that is being done in this important area of physiology rather than just a summary.