Behavioral Neuroscience

In the past ten years, there has been growing interest in applying our knowledge of the human brain to the field of education, including reading, learning, language, and mathematics. This has resulted in the development of a number of new practices in education, some good, some bad, and some just crazy. Hence we have had theories suggesting that listening to Mozart can boost intelligence, foot massages can help unruly pupils, fish oil can boost brain power, even the idea that breathing through your left nostril can enhance creativity. Sadly, there is a gap between what neuroscientists or cognitive psychologists know about brain/mind functions and the supposedly scientific theory underlying the practices used daily in our schools. So what has caused this whole scale embrace of neuroscience in the classroom — a well-intentioned, but naive misunderstanding of how science works, ideological reasons, or financial incentives? This book brings together leading psychologists, neuroscientists, and geneticists to review critically some of these new developments, examining the science behind these practices, the validity of the theories on which they are based, and whether they work.

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) comprises the ventral surface of the frontal lobe, and is critical for functions ranging from olfaction and emotion to learning and behavioral flexibility. Since the time of Phineas Gage, this enigmatic brain region has intrigued clinicians due to its association with personality. Recent research has started to unmask the specific operational principles of the area. Simultaneously, advances in the clinical neurosciences increasingly implicate the OFC and adjacent ventral frontal regions in a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions including anxiety, mood, and addictive disorders, as well as frontotemporal dementia. This book provides a review of the orbitofrontal cortex. The book starts with a review of the structure of the ventral frontal lobes in human and nonhuman primates and the current state of knowledge regarding the region's neurocircuitry. This is followed by chapters addressing the precise functions of the OFC including its role in emotion, reward, learning, inhibitory control, decision making, chemosensory processing, autonomic regulation, and social functioning. The book continues with chapters detailing methodological issues in neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment of the region, and concludes with reviews of the area's contribution to psychiatric and neurological conditions.

To understand what is happening in the brain in the moment you decide, at will, to summon to consciousness a passage of Mozart's music, or decide to take a deep breath, is like trying to ‘catch a phantom by the tail’. Consciousness remains that most elusive of all human phenomena — one so mysterious that even our highly developed knowledge of brain function can only partly explain it. This book traces the origins of consciousness. It takes the investigation back many years in an attempt to uncover just how consciousness might have first emerged. Consciousness did not develop suddenly in humans — it evolved gradually. The book investigates the evolution of consciousness. Central to the book is the idea that the primal emotions — elements of instinctive behaviour — were the first dawning of consciousness. Throughout the book examines instinctive behaviours, such as hunger for air, hunger for minerals, thirst, and pain, arguing that the emotions elicited from these behaviours and desire for gratification culminated in the first conscious states. To develop the theory the book looks at behaviour at different levels of the evolutionary tree, for example of octopuses, fish, snakes, birds, and elephants. Coupled with findings from neuroimaging studies, and the viewpoints on consciousness from figures in philosophy and neuroscience, the book presents a new look at the problem of consciousness.

This book provides a review of historical and current research on the function of the frontal lobes and frontal systems of the brain. The content spans frontal lobe functions from birth to old age, from biochemistry and anatomy to rehabilitation, and from normal to disrupted function. The book covers a variety of disciplines including neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and health care.

The complexity of the brain and the protean nature of behavior remain the most elusive area of science, but also the most important. This book contains chapters written by twenty-three experts from many areas—from evolution to qualia—of systems neuroscience to formulate one problem each and discuss. Although each chapter was written independently and can be read separately, together they provide a roadmap to the field of systems neuroscience. This book provides as a source of inspirations for future explorers of the brain.

Scientists currently study memory from many different perspectives: neurobiological, ethological, animal conditioning, cognitive, behavioral neuroscience, social, and cultural. This book aims to help initiate a new science of memory by bringing these perspectives together to create a unified understanding of the topic. The book began with a conference where leading practitioners from all these major approaches met to analyze and discuss sixteen concepts crucial to our understanding of memory. Each of these sixteen concepts is addressed in a different part of the book, and in the sixty-six chapters that fill these parts, a leading researcher addresses the chapter's concept by clearly stating his or her position on it, elucidating how it is used, and discussing how it should be used in future research. For some concepts, there is general agreement among practitioners from different fields and levels of analysis, but for others there is general disagreement and much controversy. A final chapter in each part, also written by a leading researcher, integrates the various viewpoints offered on the part's concept, then draws conclusions about the concept.

We spend so much of our lives sleeping, yet its precise function is unclear, in spite of our increasing understanding of the processes generating and maintaining sleep. We now know that sleep can be accompanied by periods of intense cerebral activity, yet only recently has experimental data started to provide us with some insights into the type of processing taking place in the brain as we sleep. There is now strong evidence that sleep plays a crucial role in learning and in the consolidation of memories. Once the preserve of psychoanalysts, ‘dreaming’ is now a topic of increasing interest amongst scientists. With research into sleep growing, this book presents a unique study of the relationship between sleep, learning, and memory. It brings together a team of international scientists researching sleep in both human and animal subjects.

Amphetamines have had a relatively short, though chequered history. From their use in wartime, their abuse by the beat generation, up to the popularity of Ecstasy in the late 20th century, many have found amphetamines an enjoyable, though unpredictable, stimulant. More than that though, amphetamine-based treatments have been found to have beneficial effects for those suffering from attention-deficit disorders, and are now widely prescribed in the US and elsewhere as a treatment for children and adults. What is the truth behind these medical claims? What are the real effects of stimulants like Ecstasy? Just how harmful are amphetamines? This book explores the uses and abuses of amphetamines. Starting with a look at the origins of amphetamines, their use in wartime and by poets, musicians — and even a President of the US — it presents an account of amphetamine use. It examines the evidence for the claims that drugs like Ecstasy kill, and considers the widespread use of amphetamines for ADHD, presenting an account based on science and fact, rather than dogma.

Dyslexia affects about 10% of all children and is a potent cause of loss of self-confidence, personal and family misery, and waste of potential. Although the dominant view is that it is caused by specifically linguistic/phonological weakness, recent research within the field of neuroscience has shown that it is associated with visual processing problems as well. These discoveries have led to a resurgence in visual methods of treatment, which have shown promising results. This book brings together cutting edge research from a range of disciplines — including neurology, neuroscience, and the vision sciences, to present the first comprehensive review of this recent research. It includes chapters from leading specialists which, in addition to reporting on the latest research, show how this knowledge is being successfully applied in the development of effective visual treatments for this common problem. Sections within the book cover the role of eye movements in reading, visual attention and reading, the neural bases of reading, and the relationship between visual stress and dyslexia.

The idea that one day robots may have emotions has captured the imagination of many and has been dramatized by robots and androids in many famous movies. This book tackles the issue of whether robots can have emotions from a purely scientific point of view. The study of the brain now usefully informs study of the social, communicative, adaptive, regulatory, and experiential aspects of emotion and offers support for the idea that we exploit our own psychological responses in order to feel others' emotions. The chapters in this book show the many ways in which the brain can be analyzed to shed light on emotions. Fear, reward, and punishment provide structuring concepts for a number of investigations. Neurochemistry reveals the ways in which different ‘neuromodulators’ such as serotonin, dopamine, and opioids can affect the emotional balance of the brain. And studies of different regions such as the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex provide a view of the brain as a network of interacting subsystems. Related studies in artificial intelligence and robotics are discussed, and new multi-level architectures are proposed that make it possible for emotions to be implanted. It is now an accepted task in robotics to build robots that perceive human expressions of emotion and can ‘express’ simulated emotions to ease interactions with humans. Looking towards future innovations, some scientists posit roles for emotion as a powerful self-motivational tool as well as a way to work effectively in a group. But daunting questions remain as we ask what may be the nature of emotions in future generations of robots that share neither our biological heritage nor our need to share emotions with our fellow humans.