This volume collects cutting-edge expert reviews in the oxytocin field and will be of interest to a broad scientific audience ranging from social neuroscience to clinical psychiatry. The role of the neuropeptide oxytocin in social behaviors is one of the earliest and most significant discoveries in social neuroscience. Influential studies in animal models have delineated many of the neural circuits and genetic components that underlie these behaviors. These discoveries have inspired researchers to investigate the effects of oxytocin on brain and behavior in humans and its potential relevance as a treatment for psychiatric disorders including borderline personality disorder and autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In fact, there is no established social psychopharmacology in Psychiatry, and oxytocin can be seen as the first endogenous agent specifically addressing social-cognitive impairment in psychiatric disorders, with animal research suggesting that it could be especially efficient in the early postnatal period. From a human perspective, it is crucial to understand more precisely who can benefit from potential oxytocin-related treatments, which outcome measures will best represent their effects, how they should be administered, and what brain mechanisms are likely involved in mediating their effects. This type of “precision medicine” approach is in line with the research domain criteria defined by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

A comparative overview of the effects of neuropeptides on behavior, examining parallel findings in both humans and non-human animals.

Around the world societies are facing growing aging populations with the concomitant increase in neuropsychiatric disorders. Neuropsychiatric disorders are organic brain diseases with psychiatric symptoms, as in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, that cause cognitive impairment, including dementia, amnesic syndrome, and personality–behavioral changes. As a clinical science, neuropsychiatry aims to explore the complex interrelationship between behavior and brain function from a variety of perspectives, including those of psychology, neurology, and psychiatry. This concise and updated monograph comprises the latest findings in the field and includes chapters on delusional symptoms, mood disorders and neurotic symptoms, cognitive impairment, behavioral and personality changes, and recently, cerebral alterations revealed in PTSD patients and in endogenous psychoses through neuroimaging and neuropathology. These findings will certainly widen the realm of neuropsychiatry going forward and will prove of great value to specialists as well as to academics and trainees in neurology, psychiatry, neuropsychology, neuroradiology, neuropathology, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, and clinical genetics. Ultimately, neuropsychiatry aims to prevent and reduce the suffering of individuals with the psychiatric symptoms of cerebral disorders.

Every day veterinarians in practice are asked to treat petsexhibiting problem behaviors. In the last several yearspharmacologic treatments of behavior have made significant advancesand can serve as a critical part of therapy. Veterinary Pscyhopharmacology is a complete source of currentknowledge on the subject of pharmacologic behavior modificationthat veterinarians can turn to for the answers they need. Classification of disorders is eschewed in favor of in-depthexplanations of pharmacologic options in inducing behavior changes.Special emphasis is given to explaining the underlying mechanism ofpharmacologic agents used in therapy; thus, veterinarians will knownot only which drugs to prescribe but why they should be prescribedand how they work. Veterinary behaviorists, their students and residents, veterinarypractitioners of all levels, and veterinary students will find thisbook invaluable in providing information about their patients'behavior problems and the psychoactive medications that might helpthem.

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.

"The Handbook is intended to be a service to the neuroscience community, to help in finding available and useful information, to point out gaps in our knowledge, and to encourage continued studies. It represents the valuable contributions of the many authors of the chapters and the guidance of the editors and most important, it represents support for research in this discipline. Based on the rapid advances in the years since the second edition."--Publisher's website.

Welcome to the world of Oxytocin and Social Function, an in-depth exploration of the powerful role of this neuropeptide in shaping our social behaviors and interactions. The book delves into the rich and complex relationship between oxytocin and our social functions. Featuring contributions from leading experts in the field, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of oxytocin’s role in our social lives. It goes beyond the laboratory to explore the hormone’s potential in real-world applications. The book also highlights recent research on oxytocin’s role in enhancing empathy, reducing stress, and promoting overall well-being. With this book, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the intricate workings of oxytocin and how it shapes our social behaviors and relationships. Oxytocin and Social Function is a must-read for anyone interested in human behavior, psychology, neuroscience, or the ever-growing field of oxytocin research. Turn the page and embark on a captivating journey into the hidden potentials of oxytocin and its transformative effects on our social function.

Leading researchers are specially invited to provide a complete understanding of a key topic within the multidisciplinary fields of physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology. In a form immediately useful to scientists, this periodical aims to filter, highlight and review the latest developments in these rapidly advancing fields.​

A great deal is known about how infants form attachments, and how these processes carry over into adolescence. But after that, the trail grows cold: the study of adult attachment emphasizes individual variations, paying little attention to the normative mechanisms of adult bonding. A much-needed corrective, Bases of Adult Attachment examines this under-investigated topic with an eye toward creating a robust theoretical model. The first volume of its kind, its multilevel approach integrates current findings from neuroscience and psychology to analyze the processes by which adult relationships develop, mature, function and dissolve. Here in relevant detail are factors contributing to initial attraction, possible scenarios in the evolution from friendship to attachment and the changes that occur on both sides of a relationship as partners mutually influence each other's behavior, emotions, cognition and even physiology. And expert contributors address long-neglected questions in the field with stimulating topics such as: The distress-relief dynamic in attachment bonding. An expectancy-value approach to attachment. The biobehavioral legacy of early attachment relationships for adult emotional and interpersonal functioning. How early experiences shape attraction, partner preferences, and attachment dynamics. How mental representations change as attachments form. Insights into the formation of attachment bonds from a social network perspective. Bases of Adult Attachment will interest scholars approaching adult attachment at multiple levels of analysis (neural, physiological, affective, cognitive and behavioral) and from multiple perspectives. This wide audience includes developmental, social and cognitive psychologists as well as neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, clinicians, sociologists, family researchers and professionals in public health and medicine.

Schizophrenia and Psychotic Spectrum Disorders aims to engage young caregivers in psychiatry, psychology, nursing and social work so that they will be able to become well informed about this significant--and at times confusing--illness. Because schizophrenia is considered to be one of the most complicated and severe psychiatric disorders, this book has the goal of summarizing key issues of the illness, such as its presentation, frequency and age of onset, and diagnostic characteristics. It also contains informative chapters about the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, ranging from brain development issues, genetics, and likely abnormalities in neurotransmitters. This book will give young professionals and those joining the field an excellent and accessible background to treatment. In this area, Schizophrenia and Psychotic Spectrum Disorders provides a comprehensive approach to diagnosis, treatment initiation, strategies for non-response, approaches of therapy, and importantly, ways to provide family therapy and support.