Abstract
Reviewed by: Deaglan Page, School of Psychology, Queen’s University Belfast, Ireland
The aim of this book – which is aimed at undergraduate students – is to guide readers new to the study of the brain and behaviour through some of the key concepts in biological psychology. The chapters of the book are admirable in terms of the breadth of their coverage; an indication of which can be seen in the chapter headings alone: ‘Structure and Communication in the Nervous System’, ‘Drugs and the Nervous System’, ‘Psychopharmacology’, ‘Development, Degeneration, and Recovery in the Nervous System’, ‘The Importance of Experience: Learning and Memory’, ‘Sensory Systems’, ‘Motor Control’, ‘Emotional Behaviours’, ‘Motivated Behaviours’ and ‘Psychological Disorders’. One innovative feature of the text as highlighted by the authors is the emphasis on the importance of learning and memory as a key thread throughout all the chapters. This has the effect of not only tying together seemingly disparate topics, but also helping to maintain tight focus on the topics at hand.
Each chapter is followed by a segment titled ‘Spotlights’. These sections go into more specific details about certain aspects of the material covered in the preceding chapter. For example, the chapter on ‘Development, Degeneration, and Recovery in the Nervous System’ is followed by two Spotlights on the topics of ‘Behavioural Genetics’ and ‘Neurodegeneration’. This allows the writers to expand on themes previously mentioned in brief, as well as to lead the more adventurous reader to think in more sophisticated terms about a topic area. This is further illustrated by looking at the Spotlight on ‘Neurodegeneration’. Here, the subheading on Alzheimer’s disease has information on the prevalence, clinical characteristics, aetiology and pathology, and potential treatments (and the implications) of the disease. Since my own research background is in this area, I read this section with particular interest and was very impressed with the balanced presentation of what is already known and well-established with new and novel studies, illustrating possible future directions of study. All this is written in such a way to engage the active reader.
In common with a number of recently published textbooks, ‘Biological Psychology’ is supported with a companion website. This has a number of extremely useful features – incorporating a chapter summary, an ‘Action Plan’ to measure and assess progress, a set of specific learning objectives, a series of multimedia links and a brief multiple choice quiz. Taking the example of the ‘Psychological Disorders’ chapter, the multimedia links currently available are weblinks to some excellent videos on the diagnosis of depression, the biology underpinning schizophrenia and a TED talk on a possible link between Parkinson’s disease and depression. Whilst it could be argued that the more motivated students should independently seek out links such as this, it is more useful that they are packaged in the context of a textbook where the content can supplement or enhance the students’ understanding. The multiple choice questions have not only a range of complexity, but the topics themselves range very widely. In the example I selected prior to writing this review, students were asked about drug action and the likely diagnoses as well as being asked to identify possible flaws in a provided experimental design. The diagrams and illustrations are first-rate, often giving a new life or fresh perspective on topics that can otherwise seem hackneyed or overdone.
One final feature that I think is worth mentioning is the ‘Further Reading’ section appended to each chapter. Usually, these are references to well-known or well-established books or journal articles; however, in this instance the authors have taken the initiative to cite mainly recent papers. In doing this, they underline the immediacy and relevance of each topic. The majority of the suggested readings were excellent and the student who takes these recommendations seriously will be well-rewarded.
One concern when reviewing or recommending a textbook with multiple authors are the tonal shifts between chapters; even with the most astute editorial oversight, there will still be clear authorial voices that may contrast amongst one another. For example, one chapter provides multiple examples whilst another chapter provides only one example, which is enough to explain the topic succinctly. That being said, it is impressive how little this appeared to be a feature of this textbook. The consistency in tone between the authors is very strong, and if some chapters appear to have more detail than others, then this is as likely a feature of the topic under discussion rather than anything more sinister.
There was a slight tendency in parts for assertions to go unsupported; for example in the section on anorexia nervosa, it was claimed that more women are diagnosed than men and, whilst this is undoubtedly true, more contextual information could have allowed us to understand in further depth. One other authorial or editorial decision that was somewhat puzzling was the decision to include a brief summary of the Phineas Gage. No-one can disagree that the Gage case has been covered in considerable detail elsewhere, but what I felt was missing was the opportunity to discuss the implications of the case in terms of the danger of relying too much on single case studies. These, of course, are very minor cavils, and any tutor using this text will have the opportunity to springboard from the chapters to expand on points like this if they wish.
Students commencing a university course in psychology are often thought to find the presence of ‘statistics’ the most unwelcome surprise, but it could be argued that the presence of psychobiology can be just as alarming for others. For these students, getting to grips with sophisticated biological science, as well as the complex methods used to measure and assess our biological ability, can be a very challenging matter. All this is worth mentioning because the book under review deals with such anxiety by explaining things in an admirably clear manner, furnishing excellent examples and moving from the elementary to the much more complex elements in such a way that should see it becoming one of the standard textbooks in this area.