Jaak Panksepp is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus (since 1998) of Psychobiology at Bowling Green State University; Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Medical College of Ohio at Toledo; and currently with the Falk Center for Molecular Therapeutics, Northwestern University.

"Jaak Panksepp presents a synopsis of animal research on emotion togetherwith stimulating new ideas on the role and respresentation of emotion in humansand other mammals. It seemed clear to me that Panksepp's affective neurosciencecan provide a valuable foundation to emotion research. These are not entirelynew ideas, but by presenting them in a comprehensive text on the neuroscience ofemotion, Panksepp constructs a strong defense against the not uncommon view thatemotions are 'illusionary concepts outside the realm of scientific enquiry.' Forthis reason alone, Panksepp is to be congratulated. This is a powerful text thatwill make a lasting impression on emotion research in general. Panksepp hasprovided a much-needed review of the animal literature, together withfascinating new ideas on the nature of affective consciousness." -- Andy Calder,MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK

Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. However, with advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, researchers are demonstrating that this position is wrong as they move closer to a lasting understanding of the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp provides the most up-to-date information about the brain-operating systems that organize the fundamental emotional tendencies of all mammals. Presenting complex material in a readable manner, the book offers a comprehensive summary of the fundamental neural sources of human and animal feelings, as well as a conceptual framework for studying emotional systems of the brain. Panksepp approaches emotions from the perspective of basic emotion theory but does not fail to address the complex issues raised by constructionist approaches. These issues include relations to human consciousness and the psychiatric implications of this knowledge. The book includes chapters on sleep and arousal, pleasure and fear systems, the sources of rage and anger, and the neural control of sexuality, as well as the more subtle emotions related to maternal care, social loss, and playfulness. Representing a synthetic integration of vast amounts of neurobehavioural knowledge, including relevant neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry, this book will be one of the most important contributions to understanding the biology of emotions since Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.

PART I: Conceptual Background

1. Affective Neuroscience: History and Major Concepts

2. Emotional Operating Systems and Subjectivity: Methodological Problems and a Conceptual Framework for the Neurobiological Analysis of Affect

3. Varieties of Emotional Systems in the Brain--Theories, Taxonomies, and Semantics

4. Neurostatistics: The Anatomy of the Brain/Mind

5. Neurodynamics: The Electrical Languages of the Brain

6. Neurodynamics: Neurochemical Maps of the Brain

PART II: Basic Emotional and Motivational Processes

7. Sleep, Arousal, and Mythmaking in the Brain

8. SEEKING Systems and Anticipatory States of the Nervous System

9. Energy Is Delight--The Pleasures and Pains of Brain Regulatory Systems

10. Nature Red in Tooth and Claw: The Neurobiological Sources of Rage and Anger

11. The Sources of Fear and Anxiety in the Brain PART III: The Social Emotions

12. Varieties of Love and Lust: Neural Control of Sexuality

13. Love and the Social Bond: Sources of Nurturance and Maternal Behavior

14. Loneliness and the Social Bond: The Brain Sources of Sorrow and Grief

15. Rough-and-Tumble Play: The Brain Sources of Joy

16. Emotions, the Higher Cerebral Processes and the SELF: Some Are Born to Sweet Delight, Some Are Born to Endless Night Appendix A: Bones, Brains, and Human Origins Appendix B: Brain, Language, and Affective Neuroscience Appendix C: Dualism and the Neurosciences