Nerve Cells and Animal Behaviour

An extensively revised third edition of this introduction to neuroethology - the neuronal basis of animal behaviour - for zoology, biology and psychology undergraduate students. The book focuses on the roles of individual nerve cells in behaviour, from simple startle responses to complex behaviours such as route learning by rats and singing by crickets and birds. It begins by examining the relationship between brains and behaviour, and showing how study of specialised behaviours reveals neuronal mechanisms that control behaviour. Information processing by nerve cells is introduced using specific examples, and the establishing roles of neurons in behaviour is described for a predator-prey interaction, toads versus cockroaches. New material includes: vision by insects, which describes sensory filtering; hunting by owls and bats, which describes sensory maps; and rhythmical movements including swimming and flying, which describes how sequences of movements are generated. Includes stunning photographs which capture the detail of the behaviour.

Table of Contents:
1. Organisation of animal behaviour and of brains - feeding in star-nose moles and courtship in fruit flies; 2. Signals in nerve cells - reflexes in mammals and insects; 3. Neuronal mechanisms for releasing behaviour - predator and prey: toad and cockroach; 4. Neuronal pathways for behaviour - startle behaviours and giant neurons in crayfish and fish; 5. Eyes and vision - sensory filtering and course control in insects; 6. Sensory maps - hunting by owls and bats; 7. Programmes for movement - how nervous systems generate and control rhythmic movements; 8. Changes in nerve cells and behaviour - learning in bees and rats; swarming in locusts; 9. Nerve cells and animal signalling - songs of crickets, electric fish and birds.

About the Author :
Peter Simmons regularly publishes research on insect neurobiology, especially on the ocellar and compound eye visual systems and their role in controlling flight, and on the physiology of synaptic transmission. He is currently Director of the Zoology Degree at Newcastle. David Young has undertaken research and teaching on the link between neurobiology and behaviour in insects, looking at both sensory and motor systems. A special interest has been the mechanisms of sound production in crickets and cicadas. He is also the author of The Discovery of Evolution (2007).

Review :
"This introduction is easy to read and makes the book accessible to anyone with at least a basic understanding of biology who wants to be introduced to neuroethology. Nerve Cells and Animal Behaviour is a great introduction to behavioral science." Nicolas Dray, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine "Throughout, the prose is lively and the discussions of even complex phenomena are lucid. The figures are carefully crafted to be clear and uncluttered, and there are just enough of them to keep the explanations moving along. Nerve Cells and Animal Behaviour is an interesting and pleasant read that conveys the thrill of studying the neural basis of animal behavior; it would be ideal for triggering interesting discussions in a relatively small biology or psychology course. William B. Kristan, Jr., The Quarterly Review of Biology