Editorial Review:

In Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior: The Pharmacology of Abuse and Dependence, you will explore the brain and see what happens when drugs affect its functions. Filled with an array of useful definitions and amazing historic discoveries about the nervous system, this book will bring you up to speed on the brain/behavior relationship, basic neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and the mechanistic actions of mood-altering drugs, including alcohol, marijuana, anxiolytics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, cocaine, and opiates.

Interspersed with original eye-catching illustrations, Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior provides the same type of captivating instruction found in Dr. Brick's highly successful courses. Its clear-cut organization and topical "info-phrases" invite reader dialogue. Unlike most pharmacology-related texts, this book is written by scientists who work in the field of alcohol and drug studies and who share with you their vast, practical experiences in the clinical as well as pharmacological issues surrounding drug abuse and dependence. Specifically, you'll read about:

• how psychoactive drugs affect cognition, behavior, and emotion
• the brain/behavior relationship
• the specific effects of 7 major addictive drug groups
• pharmacokinetics--tracing the impact of drugs through the body
• redefining addiction
  
  The brain is a fascinating organ--even more fascinating when we consider how readily certain mood-altering drugs can cause us to veer into all kinds of different behavioral paths. Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior is a unique balance of insightful instruction, useful charts, and easy-to-use tables and formulas that will give you a broad, lasting introduction to this intriguing subject. Whether you're a nurse, chemical dependency counselor, psychologist, or clinician, Drugs, the Brain, and Behavior will be a quick reference guide long after the first reading.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

Science of Addiction:

This book provides a good overall review of different drug classifications and their impact on the brain and body. It is a good reference tool, not great "sit down and relax" reading but informative. If you are interested in the science of addiction, this is a good book to have.

book was good for it's purpose:

I used the book for a class on how drugs affect the brain functioning. I recommend you have some prior knowledge on psychology and the functioning of the human brain, even though the book helps you through hard to understand processes of the brain functioning.

Good basic intro, but weak overall:

Good basic introduction to the major classifications of drugs, including alcohol, nicotine and steriods. However, the chapter on Cocaine and Other Stimulants does not even mention Crystal Meth - a serious flaw, considering it's the most popular street drug.

This text is beginning to become a little outdated (published in 1998). New studies and theories have been developed which the text overlooks. For example, Depokote, not lithium is the medication of choice today for bi-polar disorder.

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