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The challenge of teaching bio-psychology is first getting students up to speed with the basic brain functions and terminology, then applying this to psychology and finally developing critical thinking about the subject. This book uniquely addresses all three of these issues and provides a resource that supports students at each of these different levels of understanding.
Key features include:
New video animations for the biology chapters and many high-quality illustrations throughout, helping students grasp the basic neuroanatomy and microbiology.
'Check your understanding' questions in the book and MCQs online help students test their understanding and prepare for assessments.
Chapters cover the need-to-know topics for psychology students with 'Insight' and 'Focus on Methods' boxes, highlighting these topics' relevance to real-world research and applications.
Spotlights build on the chapters, delving deeper into contemporary debates, issues and controversies around topical areas such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obesity and pain.
List of contents
Chapter 1: What is biological psychology?
Chapter 2: Structure and communication in the nervous system
Chapter 3: Drugs and the nervous system: psychopharmacology
Spotlight 3a: Individual differences in drug responses
Chapter 4: Development, degeneration and recovery in the nervous system
Spotlight 4a: Behavioural genetics
Spotlight 4b: Neurodegeneration
Chapter 5: The importance of experience: learning and memory
Spotlight 5a: Memory persistence
Chapter 6: Sensory systems
Spotlight 6a: Retinal spatial processing
Spotlight 6b: Pain
Chapter 7: Motor control
Spotlight 7a: Mirror neurons
Chapter 8: Emotional behaviours
Spotlight 8a: The neural basis of fear
Spotlight 8b: Too much emotion? Post-traumatic stress disorder and drug addiction
Chapter 9: Motivated behaviours
Spotlight 9a: Sleep disturbances and implications for health
Spotlight 9b: Eating disorders and obesity
Chapter 10: Psychological disorders
Spotlight 10a: Schizophrenia
Summary
Accompanied by new animations and updated with topical areas such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obesity and pain, this book helps students get up to speed with essential biology and neuroanatomy, understand the application of biology to psychology and delve deeper and think critically about contemporary issues.
Report
This textbook should be of particular interest to undergraduate students as by reading it they will grasp the fundamentals of brain anatomy and brain functions and then further progress onto areas such as the effects of drug-taking, learning and memory, movement, eating and sleeping behaviours, psychological disorders and more. The book encourages and emphasises the importance of critical thinking and linking research areas, something that will allow students to access the top band of marks.
Nina Avitabile 20191106
