Description
Book SynopsisThis edition of Are We Hardwired addresses the role of genes in governing behaviour. It explains the genetic and molecular basis of human behaviour within the broader context of animal behaviour generally. Behaviour is treated as a complex interaction of nature and nurture; to understand ourselves fully, neither can be dismissed out of hand.
Trade ReviewThis book tells the story of how genes and other aspects of biology such as pheromones and neurotransmitters affect important behaviours such as aggression, eating disorders, drug use and abuse, sexual preference, learning and memory, and mental function. The story begins with the real stars of genetic research - sea slugs, roundworms, and fruit flies - and builds up to what we know about our own species. The story is told in a captivating way--exciting yet erudite. Excellent! * Robert Plomin, MRC Research Professor, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College, London and author of the upcoming fourth edition of Behaviour Genetics *
Are we hardwired? Do billion-year old genes play an important role in human behaviour? Pick up this book. You won't be able to put it down. * Thomas J. Bouchard, Jr., Professor of Psychology, University of Minnesota *
Table of Contents1. Mirror, mirror ; 2. In the beginning: the evolutionary origins of behaviour ; 3. The nose knows ; 4. As the worm turns: learning and memory in the roundworm C. elegans ; 5. About genes and behaviour ; 6. Life in the fourth dimension: the role of clocks in regulating behaviour ; 7. You must remember this: the evolution of learning and memory ; 8. The role of neurotransmitters in human behaviour ; 9. The genetics of aggression ; 10. The genetics of consumption, Part 1: eating disorders ; 11. The genetics of consumption, Part II: alcoholism and drug abuse ; 12. The genetics of human mental function ; 13. The genetics of human sexual preference ; 14. Genetics, the environment and free will ; Appendix 1: finding and identifying genes ; Appendix 2: a brief history of eugenics
