Methods In Behavioral Pharmacology

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.

Hardbound. 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.

The first six volumes of the Handbook reviewed basic neuropharmacology, drawing on expertise in biochemistry, pharmacology and electrophysiology. The next three volumes focus attention on the functional importance of these basic neuropharmacological mechanisms for normal behavior. In order to study this interface in the intact functioning organism, appropriate methods for describing and quantifying behavior must be developed. The past twenty years have witnessed a revolution in the study of behavior which has taken us away from the often fruitless theoretical arguments to descriptive behaviorism. Technical achievements in the design of apparatus and the recording of behavior played an important role in these developments, and the resultant behavioral methods have been accepted and found useful in studying the effects of drugs. The development of psycho pharmacology as a discipline owes as much to these behavioral methods as it does to the basic neuropharmacological techniques pioneered for in vitro studies. In the first section of Volume 7, an effort has been made to provide reviews both of theory and practice in behavioral science. Milner's chapter deals with the concept of motivation in a theoretical framework. By contrast, the chapters by Morse et al. and Dews and DeWeese provide a more descriptive view of the various ways in which aversive stimuli control behavior and the importance of schedules of reinforcement in determining the profile of responding in the animal. The equal importance of observational behav ioral methods is well illustrated by Mackintosh et al.

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.

The effects of drugs on behavior are of inherent interest and psycho pharmacology has provided a focus for research activity for many years. Until recently, however, it could be claimed that the contribution of pharmacology was more obvious than that of psychology in the de velopment of what should surely prove to be a matter for interdis ciplinary endeavor. Pharmacological analyses of drug action have frequently been expressed in terms of dose-response functions, for ex ample, with the dependent variable taking the form of patterns of be havior whose controlling influences were but poorly understood. The introduction of operant conditioning techniques has transformed psy chopharmacology in this respect. Operant analyses have traditionally emphasized the environmental determinants of behavior and have ex plored the behavioral outcomes of many different experimental ar rangements. These different behavioral repertoires have quickly proved to be of great importance in influencing the behavioral effects of drugs, and so psychologists have begun to playa role which better balances that of the pharmacologist in experimental psychophar macology. To reflect the development of these interdisciplinary studies, several excellent books have been published in recent years. These 1 have included introductory texts, collections of important experi mental reports which had appeared in learnedjournals,2 and authorita 3 tive handbooks which survey the current scene.

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

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