An overview of findings in the bird song system that have had a major impact on neuroscience research, and have fundamentally altered our concepts of brain function. The 32 papers constitute the proceedings of a conference on The Behavioural Neurobiology of Bird Song, held in New York in 2002.

Behavioral Neuroscientists study the behavior of animals and humans and the neurobiological and physiological processes that control it. Behavior is the ultimate function of the nervous system, and the study of it is very multidisciplinary. Disorders of behavior in humans touch millions of people’s lives significantly, and it is of paramount importance to understand pathological conditions such as addictions, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, autism among others, in order to be able to develop new treatment possibilities. Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience is the first and only multi-volume reference to comprehensively cover the foundation knowledge in the field. This three volume work is edited by world renowned behavioral neuroscientists George F. Koob, The Scripps Research Institute, Michel Le Moal, Université Bordeaux, and Richard F. Thompson, University of Southern California and written by a premier selection of the leading scientists in their respective fields. Each section is edited by a specialist in the relevant area. The important research in all areas of Behavioral Neuroscience is covered in a total of 210 chapters on topics ranging from neuroethology and learning and memory, to behavioral disorders and psychiatric diseases. The only comprehensive Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience on the market Addresses all recent advances in the field Written and edited by an international group of leading researchers, truly representative of the behavioral neuroscience community Includes many entries on the advances in our knowledge of the neurobiological basis of complex behavioral, psychiatric, and neurological disorders Richly illustrated in full color Extensively cross referenced to serve as the go-to reference for students and researchers alike The online version features full searching, navigation, and linking functionality An essential resource for libraries serving neuroscientists, psychologists, neuropharmacologists, and psychiatrists

Scholars have long been captivated by the parallels between birdsong and human speech and language. In this book, leading scholars draw on the latest research to explore what birdsong can tell us about the biology of human speech and language and the consequences for evolutionary biology. They examine the cognitive and neural similarities between birdsong learning and speech and language acquisition, considering vocal imitation, auditory learning, an early vocalization phase ("babbling"), the structural properties of birdsong and human language, and the striking similarities between the neural organization of learning and vocal production in birdsong and human speech. After outlining the basic issues involved in the study of both language and evolution, the contributors compare birdsong and language in terms of acquisition, recursion, and core structural properties, and then examine the neurobiology of song and speech, genomic factors, and the emergence and evolution of language.

The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience is a seminal reference work in the burgeoning field of developmental behavioral neuroscience, which has emerged in recent years as an important sister discipline to developmental psychobiology. This handbook, part of the Oxford Library of Neuroscience, provides an introduction to recent advances in research at the intersection of developmental science and behavioral neuroscience, while emphasizing the central research perspectives of developmental psychobiology. Contributors to the Oxford Handbook of Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience are drawn from a variety of fields, including developmental psychobiology, neuroscience, comparative psychology, and evolutionary biology, demonstrating the opportunities to advance our understanding of behavioral and neural development through enhanced interactions among parallel disciplines.In a field ripe for collaboration and integration, the Oxford Handbook of Developmental Behavioral Neuroscience provides an unprecedented overview of conceptual and methodological issues pertaining to comparative and developmental neuroscience that can serve as a roadmap for researchers and a textbook for educators. Its broad reach will spur new insights and compel new collaborations in this rapidly growing field.

The aim of Advances in the Study of Behavior is to serve scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior, including psychologists, neuroscientists, biologists, ethologists, pharmacologists, endocrinologists, ecologists, and geneticists. Articles in the series present critical reviews of significant research programs with theoretical syntheses, reformulation of persistent problems, and/or highlighting new and exciting research concepts. Advances in the Study of Behavior is now available online at ScienceDirect — full-text online of volumes 30 onwards. Elsevier book series on ScienceDirect gives multiple users throughout an institution simultaneous online access to an important compliment to primary research. Digital delivery ensures users reliable, 24-hour access to the latest peer-reviewed content. The Elsevier book series are compiled and written by the most highly regarded authors in their fields and are selected from across the globe using Elsevier's extensive researcher network. For more information about the Elsevier Book Series on ScienceDirect Program, please visit: http://www.info.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/ - Published continuously since 1965 - Multidisciplinary across social and life science subject areas - Volume 36 addresses current themes in animal behavior

Psychology is of interest to academics from many fields, as well as to the thousands of academic and clinical psychologists and general public who can't help but be interested in learning more about why humans think and behave as they do. This award-winning twelve-volume reference covers every aspect of the ever-fascinating discipline of psychology and represents the most current knowledge in the field. This ten-year revision now covers discoveries based in neuroscience, clinical psychology's new interest in evidence-based practice and mindfulness, and new findings in social, developmental, and forensic psychology.

“Lovely, celebratory. For all the belittling of ‘bird brains,’ [Ackerman] shows them to be uniquely impressive machines . . .” —New York Times Book Review “A lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence.” —Scientific American An award-winning science writer tours the globe to reveal what makes birds capable of such extraordinary feats of mental prowess Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. According to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores their newly discovered brilliance and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are shifting our view of what it means to be intelligent. At once personal yet scientific, richly informative and beautifully written, The Genius of Birds celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely intelligent creatures. Ackerman is also the author of Birds by the Shore: Observing the Natural Life of the Atlantic Coast.

Respiration is one of the most basic motor activities crucial for survival of the individual. It is under total control of the central nervous system, which adjusts respiratory depth and frequency depending on the circumstances the individual finds itself. For this reason this volume not only reviews the basic control systems of respiration, located in the caudal brainstem, but also the higher brain regions, that change depth and frequency of respiration. Scientific knowledge of these systems is crucial for understanding the problems in the many patients suffering from respiratory failure. - This well-established international series examines major areas of basic and clinical research within neuroscience, as well as emerging subfields.

These two-volume books comprise the post-conference proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP 2007) held in Kitakyushu, Japan, during November 13–16, 2007. The Asia Paci?c Neural Network Assembly (APNNA) was founded in 1993. The ?rst ICONIP was held in 1994 in Seoul, Korea, sponsored by APNNA in collaboration with regional organizations. Since then, ICONIP has consistently provided prestigious opp- tunities for presenting and exchanging ideas on neural networks and related ?elds. Research ?elds covered by ICONIP have now expanded to include such ?elds as bioinformatics, brain machine interfaces, robotics, and computational intelligence. We had 288 ordinary paper submissions and 3 special organized session p- posals. Although the quality of submitted papers on the average was excepti- ally high, only 60% of them were accepted after rigorous reviews, each paper being reviewed by three reviewers. Concerning special organized session prop- als, two out of three were accepted. In addition to ordinary submitted papers, we invited 15 special organized sessions organized by leading researchers in emerging ?elds to promote future expansion of neural information processing. ICONIP 2007 was held at the newly established Kitakyushu Science and Research Park in Kitakyushu, Japan. Its theme was “Towards an Integrated Approach to the Brain—Brain-Inspired Engineering and Brain Science,” which emphasizes the need for cross-disciplinary approaches for understanding brain functions and utilizing the knowledge for contributions to the society. It was jointly sponsored by APNNA, Japanese Neural Network Society (JNNS), and the 21st century COE program at Kyushu Institute of Technology.

Current Work and Open Problems: A Road-Map for Research into the Emergence of Communication and Language Chrystopher L. Nehaniv, Caroline Lyon, and Angelo Cangelosi 1.1. Introduction This book brings together work on the emergence of communication and language from researchers working in a broad array of scientific paradigms in North America, Europe, Japan and Africa. We hope that its multi-disciplinary approach will encourage cross-fertilization and promote further advances in this active research field. The volume draws on diverse disciplines, including linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, ethology, anthropology, robotics, and computer science. Computational simulations of the emergence of phenomena associated with communication and language play a key role in illuminating some of the most significant issues, and the renewed scientific interest in language emergence has benefited greatly from research in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science. The book starts with this road map chapter by the editors, pointing to the ways in which disparate disciplines can inform and stimulate each other. It examines the role of simulations as a novel way to express theories in science, and their contribution to the development of a new approach to the study of the emergence of communication and language. We will also discuss and collect the most promising directions and grand challenge problems for future research. The present volume, is organized into three parts: I. Empirical Investi- tions on Human Language, II. Synthesis and Simulation of Communication and Language in Artificial Systems, and III. Insights from Animal Communication.