The field of social cognitive neuroscience has captured the attention of many researchers during the past ten years. Much of the impetus for this new field came from the development of functional neuroimaging methods that made it possible to unobtrusively measure brain activation over time. Using these methods over the last 30 years has allowed psychologists to move from simple validation questions -- would flashing stimuli activate the visual cortex -- to those about the functional specialization of brain regions-- are there regions in the inferior temporal cortex dedicated to face processing-- to questions that, just a decade ago, would have been considered to be intractable at such a level of analysis. These so-called "intractable" questions are the focus of the chapters in this book, which introduces social cognitive neuroscience research addressing questions of fundamental importance to social psychology: How do we understand and represent other people? How do we represent social groups? How do we regulate our emotions and socially undesirable responses? This book also presents innovative combinations of multiple methodologies, including behavioral experiments, computer modeling, functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) experiments, Event-Related Potential (ERP) experiments, and brain lesion studies. It is divided into four sections. The first three sections present the latest research on, respectively, understanding and representing other people, representing social groups, and the interplay of cognition and emotion in social regulation. In the fourth section, contributors step back and consider a range of novel topics that have emerged in the context of social neuroscience research: understanding social exclusion as pain, deconstructing our moral intuitions, understanding cooperative exchanges with other agents, and the effect of aging on brain function and its implications for well-being. Taken together, these chapters provide a rich introduction to an exciting, rapidly developing and expanding field that promises a richer and deeper understanding of the social mind.

This book is concerned with the involvement of the cerebellum in learning and remembering motor tasks. It is unique in discussing plasticity at both the cellular and at the behavioral level.

Each volume in the Autonomic Nervous System series deals with a different area of autonomic control in health and disease. This, the second volume, provides an overview on the nature of the factors that exert constraints on the differentiation and maturation of the autonomic nervous system. Subjects covered include: development of autonomic neurones; molecules affecting nerve growth and survival; regeneration after injury; and the degree to which the wiring of the nervous system is rigid or fixed.

This compelling volume provides a broad and accessible overview of the emerging field of social neuroscience. Showcasing an array of cutting-edge research programs, leading investigators present new approaches to the study of how the brain and body influence social behavior, and vice versa. Each authoritative chapter clearly describes the methods used: lesion studies, neuroimaging techniques, hormonal methods, event-related brain potential methods, and others. The contributors discuss the theoretical advantages of taking a social neuroscience perspective and analyze what their findings reveal about core social psychological phenomena. Essential topics include emotion, motivation, attitudes, person perception, stereotyping and prejudice, and interpersonal relationships.

This volume provides a fast and efficient way for undergraduate and graduate students to gain a solid understanding of the social psychology literature. Each chapter reviews a major subsection of research in the field, written by a leading social psychology researcher in that area. Coverage includes all the major empirical, theoretical and methodological developments in its subfield of social psychology. Beginning social psychologists, as well as those who may have emerged from their formal training with a less-than-solid grounding in the research literature, will find this volume invaluable. It is the book all social psychologists wished they had access to when they were getting grounded in the research literature!