Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality, 2nd Edition

When are we responsible for our own actions, and when are we in the grip of biological forces beyond our control? How do our brains make us the individuals that we are? In these 24 lectures, you'll investigate how the human brain is sculpted by evolution, constrained or freed by genes, shaped by early experience, modulated by hormones, and otherwise influenced to produce a wide range of behaviors - some of them abnormal. And you'll see that little can be explained by thinking about any one of these factors alone because some combination of influences is almost always at work. As you work through this thought-provoking and engaging material, you'll learn much about your own behavior, not to mention that of others. You'll discover how the brain and behavior are regulated; what genes at the molecular level have to do with brain function and how those genes have evolved; how neurobiology, neuroendocrinology, evolution, genetics, and ethology help explain an actual set of behaviors, with a particular focus on aggression; the role of the frontal cortex in decision-making, gratification postponement, and other important functions; and more. How much do these insights threaten our own sense of self and individuality? It's a provocative question, and it's one you'll find some answers to in Professor Sapolsky's masterful lectures on our neurological origins.