The author argues that emotional systems in humans, as well as other creatures, necessarily must be mixtures of innate and learned tendencies. This book will explain how we can move toward an understanding of emotions by taking a psychobiological approach to the subject, examining how the neurobiology and neurochemistry of the mammalian brain shape the psychological experience of emotion.

Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. With advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, however, researchers are proving this position wrong while moving closer to understanding the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp argues that emotional systems in humans, as well as other animals, are necessarily combinations of innate and learned tendencies; there are no routine and credible ways to really separate the influences of nature and nurture in the control of behavior. The book shows how to move toward a new understanding by taking a psychobiological approach to the subject, examining how the neurobiology and neurochemistry of the mammalian brain shape the psychological experience of emotion. It includes chapters on sleep and arousal, pleasure and pain systems, the sources of rage and anger, and the neural control of sexuality. The book will appeal to researchers and professors in the field of emotion.

Jaak Panksepp presents a synopsis of animal research on emotion together with stimulating new ideas on the role and representation of emotion in humans and other mammals. It seemed clear to me that Panksepp's affective neuroscience can provide a valuable foundation to emotion research. These are not entirely new ideas, but by presenting them in a comprehensive text on the neuroscience of emotion, Panksepp constructs a strong defence against the not uncommon view that emotions are 'illusionary concepts outside the realm of scientific enquiry.' For this reason alone, Panksepp is to be congratulated. This is a powerful text that will make a lasting impression on emotion research in general. Panksepp has provided a much-needed review of the animal literature, together with fascinating new ideas on the nature of affective consciousness.

Inhalt

• Part I. Conceptual Background

• 1: Affective Neuroscience: History and Major Concepts

• 2: Brain-Organ Systems and the Neurobiological Analysis of Affect

• 3: Varieties of Emotional Systems in the Brin-Theories, Taxonomies, and Semantics

• 4: Neurostatics: The Anatomy of the Mind-Brain

• 5: Neurodynamics: The Electrical Languages of the Brain

• 6: Neurodynamics: Neurochemical Maps of the Brain

• Part II. Basic Emotional and Motivational Processes

• 7: Sleep, Arousal, and Myth Making in the Brain

• 8: SEEKING Systems and Anticipatory States of the Nervous System

• 9: Energy Is Delight - The Pleasures and Pains of Brain Regulatory Systems

• 10: Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: The Neurobiological Sources of Rage and Anger

• 11: Sources of Fear and Anxiety in the Brain

• Part III. The Social Emotions

• 12: Varieties of Love and Lust: Neural Control of Sexuality

• 13: Love and The Social Bond: Sources of Nurturance and Maternal Behavior

• 14: Loneliness and The Social Bond: The Sources of Sorrow and Grief

• 15: Rough-and-Tumble Play: The Biological Sources of Joy

• 16: Emotions: The Higher Cerebral Processes and the SELF

• Appendix A. Bones, Brains, and Human Origins

• Appendix B. Brain, Language, and Affective Neuroscience

• Appendix C. Dualism and the Neurosciences

• Notes and References

• Author Index

• Subject Index