This book draws on the fields of neuroscience, communication studies, infant observation, cognitive science and human/computer interaction to explore these questions. It finds common ground where these disparate disciplines intersect with psychoanalysis in their definitions of a sense of presence.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR SERIES EDITOR'S PREFACE FOREWORD by Todd Essig INTRODUCTION PART I ON THE FRONTIERS CHAPTER ONE The western frontier CHAPTER TWO Exploring the speculative non-fiction digital frontier CHAPTER THREE Mapping the digital frontier PART II IN THE CONSULTING ROOM AND THE RESEARCH LABORATORY CHAPTER FOUR What happens in the consulting room CHAPTER FIVE From the first laboratory: neuroscience connections CHAPTER SIX From the second laboratory: technologically mediated communicationPART III ON THE SCREEN CHAPTER SEVEN The mediating device CHAPTER EIGHT The problem of presence PART IV MAKING A PLACE FOR SCREEN RELATIONS CHAPTER NINE Sometimes it works . . . CHAPTER TEN The elephant in the room CHAPTER ELEVEN The toothpaste and the tube CHAPTER TWELVE To be in the presence of someone REFERENCES INDEX