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A groundbreaking study into the formative role of play in our lives Sergio and Vivien Pellis have synthesized three decades of empirical research to create a remarkable work, unequalled in its field. A book that will not only expand our current knowledge of play behaviour, but will inspire change and progress from the laboratory to the playground.
Grooming is among the most evolutionary ancient and highly represented behaviours in many animal species. It represents a significant proportion of an animal's total activity and between 30-50% of their waking hours. Recent research has demonstrated that grooming is regulated by specific brain circuits and is sensitive to stress, as well as to pharmacologic compounds and genetic manipulation, making it ideal for modelling affective disorders that arise as a function of stressful environments, such as stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. Over a series of 12 chapters that introduce and explicate the field of grooming research and its significance for the human and animal brain, this book covers the breadth of grooming animal models while simultaneously providing sufficient depth in introducing the concepts and translational approaches to grooming research. Written primarily for graduates and researchers within the neuroscientific community.
Reviews the most important topics in current primatology using research on the long-studied Arashiyama population of Japanese macaques.
Studying behaviour in animals requires numerical measurement. This book provides a scientific framework for what to measure and why.
For readers of Inside of a Dog and The Soul of an Octopus, a fascinating, charming, and revelatory look at the science behind why animals play that shows how life—at its most fundamental level—is playful. In Kingdom of Play, critically acclaimed science writer David Toomey takes us on a fast-paced and entertaining tour of playful animals and the scientists who study them. From octopuses on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to meerkats in the Kalahari Desert to brown bears on Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, we follow adventurous researchers as they design and conduct experiments seeking answers to new, intriguing questions: When did play first appear in animals? How does play develop the brai...
A neuroscientist reveals unique aspects of decision-making and the best strategies for protecting and enhancing the brain's ability to navigate life's uncertainties Contingency calculations--the ability to predict the outcomes of decisions and actions--are critical for survival and success. Our amazing brains continually process past and current experiences to enable us to make the most adaptive choices. But when the brain's information systems are compromised--by such varying conditions as drug addiction, poverty, mental illness, or even privilege--we can lose the ability to arrive at informed decisions. In this engaging book, behavioral neuroscientist Kelly Lambert explores a variety of the modern factors that can lead to warped neural processing, or distorted realities she terms "brain bubbles." Individuals who define success in terms of creature comforts and immediate gratification, for instance, may interact less with the physical and social world and thereby dull their ability to imagine varied contingency scenarios. The author underscores how continuous, meaningful, and well-grounded experiences are required if we are to make the best decisions throughout our lives.
This book argues that in order for people to live well, they must develop a virtue of playfulness. Inspired by Aristotle, the book draws on work from philosophy, classics, history, biology, psychology, and media studies to understand the place of play and playfulness in a good life. Many philosophers have written about play, from Presocratics such as Heraclitus to contemporary philosophers such as Bernard Suits. Some champion play as the most crucial value in life. Others deride it and warn strongly against it. This book evaluates the research on how play and playfulness bear on living a good life and becoming a good person. Its main argument is that in order to understand play as an action,...
Poor design and wasted funding characterize today's American playgrounds. A range of factors--including a litigious culture, overzealous safety guidelines, and an ethos of risk aversion--have created uniform and unimaginative playgrounds. These spaces fail to nurture the development of children or promote playgrounds as an active component in enlivening community space. Solomon's book demonstrates how to alter the status quo by allying data with design. Recent information from the behavioral sciences indicates that kids need to take risks; experience failure but also have a chance to succeed and master difficult tasks; learn to plan and solve problems; exercise self-control; and develop frie...
Both seasoned and beginning investigators will be amazed at the range and complexity of rat behavior as described in the 43 chapters of this volume. The behavioral descriptions are closely tied to the laboratory methods from which they were derived, thus allowing the investigator to exploit both the behavior and the methods for their own research. It will also serve as an indispensable reference for other neuroscientists, psychologist, pharmacologists, geneticists, molecular biologists, zoologists, and their students and trainees.
The role of play in human development has long been the subject of controversy. Despite being championed by many of the foremost scholars of the twentieth century, play has been dogged by underrepresentation and marginalization in literature across the scientific disciplines. The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play marks the first attempt to examine the development of children's play through a rigorous and multidisciplinary approach. Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, this handbook resets the landscape of developmental science and makes a compelling case for the benefits of play. Edited by respected play researcher Anthony D. Pellegrini, The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play is both a scientific accomplishment and a shot across the bow for parents, educators, and policymakers regarding the importance of children's play in both development and learning.