About the Book
Health Neuroscience is a new interdisciplinary field encompassing research from cognitive, affective, and social neuroscience, health psychology, physical and mental health, and science of behavior change. This new field addresses the longstanding gap among neuroscience, health, and behavior change within the context of health promotion.
Fundamentals of Health Neuroscience explores key topics and research, including basic principles, psychological and neural processes, brain and body interactions, and gene x brain x environment interactions. This book also covers brain-based precision prevention and intervention strategies for health decisions and promotion across the lifespan. Chapters integrate the latest research findings and explores several key topics, such as: How does the brain serve both as a predictor and an outcome of health? How can people improve self-control and achieve physical and mental health effectively? What does brain plasticity and resilience tell us about optimal learning, performance, and development throughout our life? How is the sense of meaning in life affected by dopamine and reward systems in the brain?
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Brain development and health
3. Genetics, brain, and health
4. Stress response, resilience, and brain
5. Brain, body, and health
6. Mindset, social brain, and health
7. Health behavior change and habit formation
8. Brain plasticity for health promotion
9. Brain health and aging
10. Preventions and interventions for health promotion
11. Individual differences and health
12. Integrative health model
About the Author :
Dr. Tang has an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural background, experience, and expertise in the areas of human neuroscience (e.g., cognitive, affective, social, cultural, and behavioral), health psychology, health science, prevention, and intervention science.
His research mainly focuses on how environment or experience (stress, learning, training, culture) affects self-control, emotion regulation, stress resilience, and decision-making and their interaction with genes to influence health and well-being. Additionally, he investigates both conscious and unconscious changes in healthy behavior, habits, and lifestyles. His translational research focuses on the development and implementation of evidence-based interventions to prevent and ameliorate behavioral problems and mental disorders such as ADHD, learning disabilities, substance use, mood disorders, and stress-related disorders over the lifespan. Dr. Tang’s interdisciplinary research has received support from NIH, the Office of Naval Research/Department of Defense, and private foundations including the John Templeton Foundation and James Bower Foundation. He has published 9 books and over 360 peer-reviewed articles in different academic journals, including Nature Reviews Neuroscience (NRN), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Trends in Cognitive Sciences (TiCS), Neuroimage, and Human Brain Mapping.
Dr. Tang is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, and the Center for Behavior Genetics of Aging at the University of California, San Diego. She received her Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied the neural mechanisms of cognitive control and how psychological interventions improve cognitive, psychological, and mental health using neuroimaging techniques, genetic and psychosocial methods. She also received an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award and NIH’s Mentored Research Scientist Development Award for this work. Dr. Tang’s research encompasses topics from cognitive, clinical, and health neuroscience. In particular, her research focuses on 1) understanding the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive, psychological, and mental health in young and older adulthood, 2) examining individual difference factors (e.g., personality, genetics, and environment) contributing to inter-individual variability in cognitive, psychological, and mental health, as well as trajectories of brain and cognitive aging, 3) investigating and developing psychological interventions to improve health and ameliorate aging-related decline in health and brain functions. Dr. Tang has published over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles on cognitive, clinical, and health neuroscience and co-authored the Elsevier book The Neuroscience of Meditation: Understanding Individual Differences.
Review :
"In the rapidly evolving world of neuroscience, this book stands out as a pioneering text.... At its core, the book explores the profound relationship between the brain, body, and behavior, emphasizing how these interactions influence health across the lifespan.... [It] sets out to bridge the gap between neuroscience and health promotion, advocating for strategies that target the root causes of dysfunction rather than merely treating symptoms.... its accessible tone and structured content make it appealing to anyone interested in the neurobiological underpinnings of health and disease. Whether neuroscientists studying brain-body interactions or health psychologists exploring behavior change, this book will serve as a valuable resource.... [It] is richly supported with illustrations and an index, facilitating clarity and ease of reference,... [and] delivers on its promise to provide a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the field. What sets this book apart is its balanced treatment of foundational science and clinical application. While it excels in academic rigor, its approachable writing style ensures that complex ideas are accessible to those across different levels of expertise." ©Doody's Book Review Service, 2025, Yash D Shah, MD MPH (Northwell Health)
