Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology


Book Description

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of substances that are used to modify behavior. While different classes of substances have known effects, one has only to see a group of people drinking to excess to recognize that not everyone responds in the same way to a given substance. Why do substances have the behavioral effects they do, and why do individuals vary in their responses to them? This book provides a conceptual framework for answering such questions. Introduction to Behavioral Pharmacology includes a short overview of behavioral analysis and general pharmacology, followed by detailed discussion of assessment of drug effects, the stimulus properties of drugs, drug abuse, and more.




Behavioral Pharmacology of the Cholinergic System


Book Description

The molecular genetics of the cholinergic system including both muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, cholinesterases, acetylcholine synthesis and release have provided significant insights into potential targeting for pharmacological intervention. Cholinergic drugs are being used or evaluated for the treatment of diseases. Thus, this volume aims to broaden our understanding of the current state of cholinergic mechanisms to enable implementation of novel approaches for the development of more effective treatments.




Methods in Behavioral Pharmacology


Book Description

Methods in Behavioral Pharmacology is unique in offering a complete description and critical evaluation of most, if not all, methods available to study the effects of drugs on behavior. It stands apart in that it is not limited to the analysis of a particular class of pharmacological agents in a limited number of paradigms. Methods in Behavioral Pharmacology covers all paradigms without reference to specific pharmacological compounds. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the methodology used to study the behavioral effects of legal and illegal drugs. It also provides an in-depth presentation of dependent variables, their quantification and a critical evaluation of their advantages and disadvantages. An excellent work, contributed to by well-known experts in the different fields of behavioral pharmacology.




Advances in Behavioral Pharmacology


Book Description

This volume continues to document and summarize developments, trends, and emergent interdisciplinary research in behavioral psychopharmacology. For researchers and graduate students in psychopharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, toxicology, and the neurosciences. This seventh volume continues to document and summarize developments, trends, and emergent interdisciplinary research in behavioral psychopharmacology. For researchers and graduate students in psychopharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, toxicology, and the neurosciences. This is the latest volume in a series that continues to document and summarize developments, trends, and emergent interdisciplinary research in behavioral pharmacology, psychopharmacology, and the neurosciences. The chapters, written by authorities in their respective research areas, provide up-to-date examination and analysis of dominant evolving research areas. Designed as a resource text for professionals, as well as a supplementary text for upper level undergraduate and graduate students of behavioral pharmacology, psychopharmacology, psychobiology, and related fields, this book, like the others in the Advances in Behavioral Pharmacology Series, provides comprehensive coverage unavailable elsewhere.




Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience


Book Description

Using the most well-studied behavioral analyses of animal subjects to promote a better understanding of the effects of disease and the effects of new therapeutic treatments on human cognition, Methods of Behavior Analysis in Neuroscience provides a reference manual for molecular and cellular research scientists in both academia and the pharmaceutic




Neglected Factors in Pharmacology and Neuroscience Research


Book Description

Techniques in the Behavioral and Neural Sciences, Volume 12: Neglected Factors in Pharmacology and Neuroscience Research: Biopharmaceutics, Animal Characteristics, Maintenance, Testing Conditions can be used as reference in the improvement of test designs for biochemists and physiologists in the control of test conditions. The book is divided into five sections. The introduction deals with the uncertainty of animal characteristics and test conditions as hindrances to the development of general insight into biological regulatory mechanism. The first section discusses biopharmaceutics — the interaction of drugs when interacting with molecules or enzymes in sufficient concentration at a specific site of action. The second section reviews animal characteristics in terms of strain differences, sex differences, and changes during development and aging of the subject. The third section discusses the maintenance of experimental animals such as housing conditions, food composition, and water intake as these kinds of environmental factors may shape the phenotype and responsiveness of the experimental animal. The fourth section explains the testing conditions such as metabolic effects and drug interactions, anesthesia, stress, and even the effects on circadian rhythms. The last section is a discussion on the importance of experimental results. This section covers internal and external validities and statistical inference. The author concludes that the design of any experiment should include a power analysis so that reliable and valuable conclusions can follow. Biochemists, physiologists, pharmacokineticists, toxicologists, chemical researchers, and others for whom drugs are their main focus of study will find this book valuable.




Drugs and Behavior


Book Description

- An up-to-date overview of behavioral pharmacology. Drugs & Behavior starts with descriptions of basic pharmacological concepts of drug administration and pharmacokinetics, research methodology including clinical trials, tolerance and withdrawal, drug conditioning, addiction processes, and the neuroscience of drug action. Each chapter applies these concepts to different classes of recreational and therapeutic drugs. Each chapter also includes a section on the history of the drug class being described to place the drugs in their historical and social context. The text is written to be understandable to students without a background in pharmacology, neuroscience, or psychology. Learning Goals Upon completing this book, readers should be able to: Understand the behaviors of people who use drugs as medicine and for recreation Understand new trends and developments in pharmacology Identify the subjective, behavioral, and neurological differences between the use of both classes of drug







The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Operant and Classical Conditioning


Book Description

This combined survey of operant and classical conditioning provides professional and academic readers with an up-to-date, inclusive account of a core field of psychology research, with in-depth coverage of the basic theory, its applications, and current topics including behavioral economics. Provides comprehensive coverage of operant and classical conditioning, relevant fundamental theory, and applications including the latest techniques Features chapters by leading researchers, professionals, and academicians Reviews a range of core literature on conditioning Covers cutting-edge topics such as behavioral economics




Behavioral Toxicology


Book Description

Behavioral toxicology is a young discipline in the United States; so young, in fact, that this is one of its first books. Behavioral questions are bound to play a major role in future scientific work and governmental decisions involving the health effects of environmental contaminants and other chemicals. This role springs from two key problems that face scientists and public agencies required to set acceptable exposure standards or to determine criteria for the toxicity of therapeutic chemicals: How do you evaluate effects that may show up only as subtle functional disturbances? And how do you de tect toxic effects early enough so that they may still be reversible, before they produce major damage? The contributions in this book come from a collection of scientists whose interests span a wide variety of problem areas. The focus is largely on me thodological issues because they represent the most immediate concern of the discipline. We expect that this collection of papers will represent a useful source book for behavioral toxicology for some time. For the past few years, the University of Rochester's Department of Radiation Biology and Biophysics has sponsored a series of international conferences on chemical toxicity, partly as a response to concern over the con sequences to health of the rich chemical soup in which we live. This book is based upon presentations made to the fifth of the series. Held in June, 1972, it was the first formal meeting devoted to behavioral toxicology in this country.