This book reviews the evolutionary forces behind sex differences in fear responses and, crucially, delves into the mechanisms through which sexual selection might have driven sex differences in connection with fear. Fear is an evolved mechanism that helps us stay alive, but is also an emotion experienced more intensely, more frequently, and longer in women than in men. This book therefore asks the following question: Why might evolution have made women more motivated than men to avoid danger? It provides an overview of the brain areas underpinning the experience of fear and evaluates the evidence that these areas manifest sex-specific differences in their structure and function. Given its scope, the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in an evolutionary perspective on psychological sex differences.
Sex Differences in the Central Nervous System offers a comprehensive examination of the current state of sex differences research, from both the basic science and clinical research perspectives. Given the current NIH directive that funded preclinical research must consider both females and males, this topic is of interest to an increasing percentage of the neuroscience research population. The volume serves as an invaluable resource, offering coverage of a wide range of topics: sex differences in cognition, learning, and memory, sex hormone signaling mechanisms, neuroimmune interactions, epigenetics, social behavior, neurologic disease, psychological disorders, and stress. Discussions of research in both animal models and human patient populations are included. Details how sex hormones have widespread effects on the nervous system and influence the way males and females function Assists readers in determining how sex impacts their research and practice, and assists in determining how to adjust research programs to incorporate sex influences Includes discussions of research in both animal models and human patient populations, and at various developmental stages Features revised and updated chapters by leaders in the field around the globe—the broadest, most expert coverage available
Neuroscientific research on emotion has developed dramatically over the past decade. The cognitive neuroscience of human emotion, which has emerged as the new and thriving area of 'affective neuroscience', is rapidly rendering existing overviews of the field obsolete. This handbook provides a comprehensive, up-to-date and authoritative survey of knowledge and topics investigated in this cutting-edge field. It covers a range of topics, from face and voice perception to pain and music, as well as social behaviors and decision making. The book considers and interrogates multiple research methods, among them brain imaging and physiology measurements, as well as methods used to evaluate behavior and genetics. Editors Jorge Armony and Patrik Vuilleumier have enlisted well-known and active researchers from more than twenty institutions across three continents, bringing geographic as well as methodological breadth to the collection. This timely volume will become a key reference work for researchers and students in the growing field of neuroscience.
This book, the ideal following of the previous New Insights into Anxiety Disorders, collects papers of a number of clinical psychiatrists all over the world, giving their contribution to the comprehension and clinical management of anxiety disorders. Following the previously edited book on anxiety, this new one will focus on some specific clinical issues such as PTSD, psychosomatics, and complementary approaches to anxiety management themes which were not discussed in the previous book.
This book reviews the evolutionary forces behind sex differences in fear responses and, crucially, delves into the mechanisms through which sexual selection might have driven sex differences in connection with fear. Fear is an evolved mechanism that helps us stay alive, but is also an emotion experienced more intensely, more frequently, and longer in women than in men. This book therefore asks the following question: Why might evolution have made women more motivated than men to avoid danger? It provides an overview of the brain areas underpinning the experience of fear and evaluates the evidence that these areas manifest sex-specific differences in their structure and function. Given its scope, the book will be essential reading for anyone interested in an evolutionary perspective on psychological sex differences.
Current research and clinical observations suggest pronounced gender-based differences in the ways people respond to traumatic events. Most notably, women evidence twice the rate of PTSD as men following traumatic exposure. This important volume brings together leading clinical scientists to analyze the current state of knowledge on gender and PTSD. Cogent findings are presented on gender-based differences and influences in such areas as trauma exposure, risk factors, cognitive and physiological processes, comorbidity, and treatment response. Going beyond simply cataloging gender-related data, the book explores how the research can guide us in developing more effective clinical services for both women and men. Incorporating cognitive, biological, physiological, and sociocultural perspectives, this is an essential sourcebook and text.
"A book about the influence of estrogens on memory would have been unthinkable as recently as 30 years ago. Although a few small studies in the late 1970's reported a beneficial effect of estrogens on memory in human women (Hackman and Galbraith, 1976; Fedor-Freybergh, 1977), examination of the role of estrogens in memory did not truly capture more widespread attention until the pioneering work of Barbara Sherwin and colleagues in 1988 and beyond. In her initial paper, Sherwin showed that bilateral removal of the ovaries (aka surgical menopause) led to impaired short-term and long-term memory, whereas treatment of surgically menopausal women with estradiol alone, testosterone alone, or estradiol plus testosterone prevented this decline (Sherwin, 1988). As a search for the terms "estrogen" and "memory" in PubMed illustrates, well over 2000 papers have been published on the subject of estrogens and memory in the ensuing decades. The vast majority of these studies have focused on the hippocampus, a bilateral medial temporal lobe structure essential for the formation of episodic memories, particularly those with spatial, contextual, relational, temporal, and recognition components (Olton et al., 1979; Morris et al., 1982; Kim and Fanselow, 1992; Squire, 1992; Cohen and Stackman, 2015; Tonegawa et al., 2015; Eichenbaum, 2017). Although various forms of learning and memory are mediated by numerous brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, medial temporal lobe cortices, amygdala, striatum, and cerebellum, the hippocampus has received the lion's share of attention due to its central importance for episodic memory formation. Hippocampal damage produces profound retrograde amnesia for facts and events, as well as anterograde amnesia for new information and impairments in spatial navigation (Winocur, 1990; Anagnostaras et al., 2001; Clark et al., 2002; Gilboa et al., 2006). Hippocampal dysfunction in middle-aged and aged subjects is a primary contributor to age-related memory decline (Golumb et al., 1996; Grady et al., 2003; Apostolova et al., 2010; Burke and Barnes, 2010; Small et al., 2011; Yassa et al., 2011), and has also been implicated in the cognitive impairments observed in diseases such as schizophrenia and depression (Small et al., 2011; Nakahara et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2018; Ott et al., 2019). Moreover, the hippocampi of patients with Alzheimer's disease are substantially atrophied and burdened with copious amounts of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the hallmark pathologies of this insidious disease (Hyman et al., 1984; Walsh and Selkoe, 2004; Selkoe and Hardy, 2016). As such, understanding how estrogens influence hippocampal functioning may provide important insights not only about the fundamental neurobiology of memory processes, but also into the etiology of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases"--
We know that gender traits and mental disorders are based on social, cultural, personal and physiological background. In order to formulate the best management plan for the patient, the mental health practitioner needs to incorporate all available information. Women and Mental Health provides a comprehensive overview of the most prominent mental health problems in women today. Examining the physiological, social and psychological factors of mental illness, and providing an up-to-date perspective on the etiology of different disorders, the book will help mental health professionals formulate the best management plan for the individual. Covering issues including perinatal psychiatric disorders, depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and alcohol and drug abuse - from a female perspective - Women and Mental Health will prove a valuable tool for all those working in the fields of mental health.
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
