Neurobiology of Grooming Behavior


Book Description

Grooming is among the most evolutionary ancient and highly represented behaviours in many animal species. It represents a significant proportion of an animal's total activity and between 30-50% of their waking hours. Recent research has demonstrated that grooming is regulated by specific brain circuits and is sensitive to stress, as well as to pharmacologic compounds and genetic manipulation, making it ideal for modelling affective disorders that arise as a function of stressful environments, such as stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. Over a series of 12 chapters that introduce and explicate the field of grooming research and its significance for the human and animal brain, this book covers the breadth of grooming animal models while simultaneously providing sufficient depth in introducing the concepts and translational approaches to grooming research. Written primarily for graduates and researchers within the neuroscientific community.




Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research


Book Description

Expanding on the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, this book deals specifically with mammals in neuroscience and behavioral research laboratories. It offers flexible guidelines for the care of these animals, and guidance on adapting these guidelines to various situations without hindering the research process. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research offers a more in-depth treatment of concerns specific to these disciplines than any previous guide on animal care and use. It treats on such important subjects as: The important role that the researcher and veterinarian play in developing animal protocols. Methods for assessing and ensuring an animal's well-being. General animal-care elements as they apply to neuroscience and behavioral research, and common animal welfare challenges this research can pose. The use of professional judgment and careful interpretation of regulations and guidelines to develop performance standards ensuring animal well-being and high-quality research. Guidelines for the Care and Use of Mammals in Neuroscience and Behavioral Research treats the development and evaluation of animal-use protocols as a decision-making process, not just a decision. To this end, it presents the most current, in-depth information about the best practices for animal care and use, as they pertain to the intricacies of neuroscience and behavioral research.




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




Molecular Approaches to Neurobiology


Book Description

Molecular Approaches to Neurobiology deals with molecular approaches to the analysis of the nervous system. This book surveys the current state of knowledge in a number of areas of molecular neurobiology that includes the subcellular level of chromatin structure, complexity of RNA synthesis, role of hormones in cell differentiation, and molecular correlates between neuropeptides and behavior. A comprehensive review of procedures for the isolation of specific brain cells and their experimental use is also provided at the end of this text. This publication is useful to those working in the field of neurochemistry and those engaged in morphological and physiological approaches to the analysis of the nervous system, as well as molecular biologists and biochemists working with non-neural tissues.




Gene Expression to Neurobiology and Behaviour


Book Description

How does the genome, interacting with the multi-faceted environment, translate into the development by which the human brain achieves its astonishing, adaptive array of cognitive and behavioral capacities? Why and how does this process sometimes lead to neurodevelopmental disorders with a major, lifelong personal and social impact? This volume of Progress in Brain Research links findings on the structural development of the human brain, the expression of genes in behavioral and cognitive phenotypes, environmental effects on brain development, and developmental processes in perception, action, attention, cognitive control, social cognition, and language, in an attempt to answer these questions. - Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation and provide their views and perspectives for future research - Chapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics covered - All chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialist




The Neurobiology of Parental Behavior


Book Description

In addition to filling a need within the field of parental behavior, this book contributes importantly to the growing area of emotional and motivational neuroscience. A major part of neuroscience research at the whole organism level has been focused on cognitive neuroscience, with an emphasis on the neurobiology of learning and memory, but there has been a recent upsurge in research which is attempting to define the neural basis of basic motivational and emotional systems which regulate such behaviors as food intake, aggression, reproduction, reward-seeking behaviors, and anxiety-related behaviors. In this book the emphasis is on the research findings obtained from rodents, sheep and primates. The authors' goal, of course, was to provide a foundation that may help us understand the neurobiology of human parental behavior. Indeed, the last chapter attempts to integrate the non-human research data with some human data in order to make some inroads toward an understanding of postpartum depression, child abuse, and child neglect. Clearly, motivational and emotional neuroscience has close ties to psychiatry, and this connection will be very evident in the final chapter. By understanding the neurobiology of parental behavior we are also delving into neurobiological factors which may have an impact on core human characteristics involved in sociality, social attachment, nurturing behavior, and love. In this very violent world, it is hard to conceive of a group of characteristics that are more worthy of study.




Neurobiology of Brain Disorders


Book Description

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders: Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, Second Edition provides basic scientists a comprehensive overview of neurological and neuropsychiatric disease. This book links basic, translational, and clinical research, covering the genetic, developmental, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying all major categories of brain disorders. It offers students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers in diverse fields of neuroscience, neurobiology, neurology, and psychiatry the tools they need to obtain a basic background in the major neurological and psychiatric diseases. Topics include developmental, autoimmune, central, and peripheral neurodegeneration, infectious diseases, and diseases of higher function. Organized by individual disorder, each chapter includes coverage of the clinical condition, diagnosis, treatment, underlying mechanisms, relevant basic and translational research, and key unanswered questions. This volume reflects progress in the field since publication of the first edition, with fully updated chapters, and new chapters on isolation, aging, global diseases, vascular diseases, and toxic/metabolic disease. New disorder coverage includes fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Restless Legs Syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and more. - Links basic, translational and clinical research on disorders of the nervous system - Covers a vast array of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Down syndrome, autism, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, TBI, Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's, OCD, PTSD, schizophrenia, depression and pain - Features new chapters on the effects of aging and isolation on brain health - Expands coverage on disorders, including new chapters on fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and restless legs syndrome - Features in-text summary points, special feature boxes and research questions




Neurobiology of the Parental Brain


Book Description

This book presents cutting edge research on the basic neurobiology of parental behavior as it relates to behavioral disorders, including postpartum depression, anxiety, and inadequate parental bonding to infants. Internationally recognized basic and clinical researchers present new research findings in humans and animals that elucidate the roles of the brain, physiological state, genes and environment in maternal and paternal care. By bridging the gap between basic and clinical research, new understandings of how the biology of the brain and the reproductive state of the parent impact their mental health and the successful rearing of young emerge. - Presents the neural network of motherhood based on fundamental and functional MRI studies of parental care - from rodents to humans - Discusses the role of gene-environment interactions in parenting - Offers parenting strategies and priorities in raising young - Discusses maternal defense - the neurobiology of maternal protection - Examines the significance and underlying causes of postpartum depression - Discusses parenting and anxiety – neurobiological basis for reductions during the postpartum period - Also includes the neurobiology of fatherhood – a fresh evolutionary and biological perspective on paternal behavior - Presents information on maternal neuroplasticity - how reproductive history changes the maternal brain - Translates research – internationally renowned researchers' insights into common factors that regulate mammalian parenting







Behavioral Genetics of the Mouse: Volume 1, Genetics of Behavioral Phenotypes


Book Description

The first volume in the new Cambridge Handbooks in Behavioral Genetics series, Behavioral Genetics of the Mouse provides baseline information on normal behaviors, essential in both the design of experiments using genetically modified or pharmacologically treated animals and in the interpretation and analyses of the results obtained. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the genetics of naturally occurring variation in mouse behavior, from perception and spontaneous behaviors such as exploration, aggression, social interactions and motor behaviors, to reinforced behaviors such as the different types of learning. Also included are numerous examples of potential experimental problems, which will aid and guide researchers trying to troubleshoot their own studies. A lasting reference, the thorough and comprehensive reviews offer an easy entrance into the extensive literature in this field, and will prove invaluable to students and specialists alike.