Mind's Machine: Foundations of Brain and Behavior

by Neil V. Watson

Overview

The most visually appealing and student-friendly brain and behavior book available, The Mind's Machine, Fourth Edition, presents an accessible, yet thorough, introduction to the field.

The Mind's Machine, imparts the core concepts of behavioral neuroscience to students in a diverse range of disciplines, including not only psychology and the other life sciences, but art, philosophy, media studies, linguistics, and the like. The Mind's Machine, offers a streamlined text, full-color art, novel pedagogical features, and real-life examples and analogies to engage students new to neuroscience without sacrificing accuracy. This accessible, reader-friendly book is appropriate for brain and behavior, biopsychology, and physiological psychology courses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878939336
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/28/2012
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	453
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Neil V. Watson and the members of his lab at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada study sex-related aspects of the structure and function of the nervous system, with ongoing grant support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. His research, which spans from the effects of hormones and pollutants on the structure of the nervous system to the relationships among social factors, cognition, and steroids in humans, has appeared in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Brain Research. Dr. Watson received his undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Western Ontario and his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, he joined the faculty at SFU in 1996 where he is now Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience and Chair of Psychology. He teaches biological psychology to hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students each year.

S. Marc Breedlove, the Barnett Rosenberg Professor of Neuroscience at Michigan State University, has written over 130 scientific articles investigating the role of hormones in shaping the developing and adult nervous system, publishing in journals including Science, Nature, Nature Neuroscience, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. He is also passionate about teaching-in the classroom, and in the greater community through interviews with the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Newsweek, as well as broadcast programs such as All Things Considered, Good Morning America, and Sixty Minutes. He has active grant support from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Mental Health. Dr. Breedlove is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association for Psychological Science.

Table of Contents

1. Cells and Structures: The Anatomy of the Nervous System
2. Neurophysiology: The Generation, Transmission, and Integration of Neural Signals
3. The Chemistry of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology
4. Development of the Brain
5. The Sensorimotor System
6. Hearing, Balance, Taste, and Smell
7. Vision: From Eye to Brain
8. Hormones and Sex
9. Homeostasis: Active Regulation of the Internal Environment
10. Biological Rhythms and Sleep
11. Emotions, Aggression, and Stress
12. Psychopathology: The Biology of Behavioral Disorders
13. Memory, Learning, and Development
14. Attention and Higher Cognition
15. Language and Lateralization

Editorial Reviews

"The Mind's Machine is a must-have textbook for any student, in any field, wanting to learn how and why we do the things we do. It is up-to-date and cleverly written with beautiful illustrations within the chapters and visual summaries."—Alicia Walf, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

"This is a very readable introduction to the biological bases of behavior. It includes helpful graphics, useful study aides, both in the book and online, and well curated animations, videos, research vignettes, and study guides and quizzes to aid students learning and help instructors improve their course delivery."—Christina Williams, Duke University

From the Publisher