Catecholamines and Behavior

Extensive discoveries have been made in the last decade about the roles of the neurotransmitter substances noradrenaline and dopamine in human beings as well as in experimental animals. The book starts with a description of the anatomy of the catecholamine pathways of the brain and a summary of the pharmacological manipulations available for studying them. Stephen Mason's main concerns, however, are with the studies of the part played by these brain systems in motor behaviour, learning and reward mechanisms, and cognitive and vegetative behaviour. Finally, he deals with the catecholamines in human clinical psychopathology. Throughout, the book details the experiments from which conclusions are drawn in such a way as to illuminate the process of scientific discovery for students, and to highlight the limitations and the gaps in our present knowledge. There are many illustrations, and commonly used behavioural paradigms and terminology are explained in an appendix. Included are over 1200 references to the original research literature. The book will thus be of particular interest to students in brain and behaviour courses, in psychology, physiology, pharmacology and a wide range of neurosciences, and to their teachers. It will also be valuable to research workers as the most comprehensive and detailed summary of the present state of knowledge in this fascinating research area.