Essays in Social Neuroscience

Front Cover
John T. Cacioppo, Gary G. Berntson
MIT Press, Jul 16, 2004 - Medical - 150 pages
Leaders in the field provide an introduction to the multidisciplinary collaborations of social neuroscience.

This collection of essays by a group of distinguished social neuroscientists provides the reader with an engaging overview of this emerging multidisciplinary and collaborative field. In the twentieth century, the arbitrary barrier between neuroscience and social psychology was reinforced by the specialized knowledge required by each field and an emphasis on scientific work in isolation from other disciplines; the biological and social perspectives on mind and behavior developed for the most part independently of each other. Neuroscientists often considered social factors irrelevant or minimally important, while cognitive and social scientists tended to ignore biological constraints and mechanisms as leading to what they mistakenly thought of as reductionism. By the end of the twentieth century, however, as those working in both fields were spurred by the common goal of understanding how the mind works, systematic collaborations between neuroscientists and cognitive scientists had begun. These collaborative efforts have already helped unravel aspects of perception, imagery, attention, and memory. These essays—by leaders in the field—reflect the range of disciplines engaged and questions addressed today in social neuroscience. Topics include maternal effects and chromatin modeling; "Oxytocin and the prairie vole: a love story"; pheromones, social odors, and the unconscious; and memory.

 

Contents

The Nature of Nurture Maternal Effects and Chromatin Remodeling
1
Aggression Serotonin and GeneEnvironment Interactions in Rhesus Monkeys
15
A Balance Within Dissecting Neural and Neuroendocrine Pathways That Transduce Signals from the Outside World
29
Protective and Damaging Effects of Stress Mediators
41
Oxytocin and the Prairie Vole A Love Story
53
On Pheromones Vasanas Social Odors and the Unconscious
65
Affective Style Causes and Consequences
77
When Memory Sins
93
Multilevel Analyses and Reductionism Why Social Psychologists Should Care about Neuroscience and Vice Versa
107
Emotion Social Cognition and the Human Brain
121
The Accidental Neuroscientist Positive Resources Stress Responses and Course of Illness
133
Contributors
143
Index
145
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About the author (2004)

John T. Cacioppo is Tiffany and Margaret Blake Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Psychology, Director of the Social Psychology Program, and Co-Director of the Institute for Mind and Biology at the University of Chicago.

Gary G. Berntson is Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Pediatrics at Ohio State University.

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