Overview

What arouses an animal or human from an inactive, nonresponsive state to a condition of activity and responsiveness? What are the biological mechanisms for this change? In this book Donald W. Pfaff focuses on a reproductive behavior typical of many female animals. Sensory stimuli from the male trigger responses in a well-defined circuit of nerve cells. At the top of the circuit, certain nerve cells receive and retain sex hormones such as estrogens and progesterone. As a result, specific genes in these nerve cells are turned on at specific times, affecting in turn the rest of the neural circuit and causing a state of sexual responsiveness. According to Pfaff, the biological bases for the most primitive human drives are largely explained by mechanisms uncovered in animal brains that have not changed in their fundamental properties over millions of years of evolution. Focusing on a single instinctive behavior, in this case the sex drive, is an important step toward understanding the biological reasons for the change from unmotivated to motivated animal behavior.

Full Product Details

Author:   Donald W. Pfaff (Lab of Neurobiology)
Publisher:   MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:   MIT Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.612kg
ISBN:  

9780262661478

ISBN 10:   0262661470
Pages:   316
Publication Date:   29 September 1999
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   No Longer Our Product
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

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Reviews

In a lucidly written book that is intellectually stimulating yet still true fun, Dr. Pfaff has accomplished the seemingly impossible. He has thoroughly reviewed research on sexual drive from genes and molecules to human behavior. The resulting synthesis provides fresh insights into how we think, feel, and behave. --Solomon H. Snyder, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University

Author Information

David D. Laitin is a Professor of Political Science at Stanford University.

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