Affective Neuroscience: The Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions / Edition 1

by Jaak Panksepp

Overview

Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. However, with advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, researchers are demonstrating that this position is wrong as they move closer to a lasting understanding of the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp provides the most up-to-date information about the brain-operating systems that organize the fundamental emotional tendencies of all mammals. Presenting complex material in a readable manner, the book offers a comprehensive summary of the fundamental neural sources of human and animal feelings, as well as a conceptual framework for studying emotional systems of the brain. Panksepp approaches emotions from the perspective of basic emotion theory but does not fail to address the complex issues raised by constructionist approaches. These issues include relations to human consciousness and the psychiatric implications of this knowledge. The book includes chapters on sleep and arousal, pleasure and fear systems, the sources of rage and anger, and the neural control of sexuality, as well as the more subtle emotions related to maternal care, social loss, and playfulness. Representing a synthetic integration of vast amounts of neurobehavioral knowledge, including relevant neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry, this book will be one of the most important contributions to understanding the biology of emotions since Darwins The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195178050
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/30/2004
Series:	Series in Affective Science
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	339,403
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 7.04(h) x 0.90(d)
Lexile:	1620L (what's this?)

About the Author

Bowling Green State University (Emeritus)

Table of Contents

PART I: Conceptual Background1. Affective Neuroscience: History and Major Concepts2. Emotional Operating Systems and Subjectivity: Methodological Problems and a Conceptual Framework for the Neurobiological Analysis of Affect3. Varieties of Emotional Systems in the Brain—Theories, Taxonomies, and Semantics4. Neurostatistics: The Anatomy of the Brain/Mind5. Neurodynamics: The Electrical Languages of the Brain6. Neurodynamics: Neurochemical Maps of the BrainPART II: Basic Emotional and Motivational Processes7. Sleep, Arousal, and Mythmaking in the Brain8. SEEKING Systems and Anticipatory States of the Nervous System9. Energy Is Delight—The Pleasures and Pains of Brain Regulatory Systems10. Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: The Neurobiological Sources of Rage and Anger11. The Sources of Fear and Anxiety in the BrainPART III: The Social Emotions12. Varieties of Love and Lust: Neural Control of Sexuality13. Love and the Social Bond: Sources of Nurturance and Maternal Behavior14. Loneliness and the Social Bond: The Brain Sources of Sorrow and Grief15. Rough-and-Tumble Play: The Brain Sources of Joy16. Emotions, the Higher Cerebral Processes and the SELF: Some Are Born to Sweet Delight, Some Are Born to Endless NightAppendix A: Bones, Brains, and Human OriginsAppendix B: Brain, Language, and Affective NeuroscienceAppendix C: Dualism and the Neurosciences

Editorial Reviews

"It is an invaluable reference for any neuroscientist interested in understanding the neurobiological basis of drives and emotions where the best information is contained in the animal literature. This is the strength of Panksepp's book which summarizes and references these data around clinically recognizable concepts making the information highly relevant to practicing clinicians." —Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences

"Jaak Panksepp presents a synopsis of animal research on emotion together with stimulating new ideas on the role and respresentation of emotion in humans and other mammals. It seemed clear to me that Panksepp's affective neuroscience can provide a valuable foundation to emotion research. These are not entirely new ideas, but by presenting them in a comprehensive text on the neuroscience of emotion, Panksepp constructs a strong defense against the not uncommon view that emotions are 'illusionary concepts outside the realm of scientific enquiry.' For this reason alone, Panksepp is to be congratulated. This is a powerful text that will make a lasting impression on emotion research in general. Panksepp has provided a much-needed review of the animal literature, together with fascinating new ideas on the nature of affective consciousness." — Andy Calder, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK

From the Publisher