Book excerpt: The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of comprehen sive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory research. The volumes are aimed at all individuals with interests in hear ing research including advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes are intended to introduce new investi gators to important aspects of hearing science and to help established investi gators to understand better the fundamental theories and data in fields of hearing that they may not normally follow closely. Each volume is intended to present a particular topic comprehensively, and each chapter will serve as a synthetic overview and guide to the lite rature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in peer-reviewed journals. The volumes focus on topics that have developed a solid data and conceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beginning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature.