Handbook of Behavior Genetics - by Yong-Kyu Kim (Paperback)

About the Book

Cutting-edge molecular genetics techniques now allow us to isolate genes associated with complex behaviors. This handbook is an up-to-date guide for researchers analyzing genetic and environmental influences on various complex behaviors in humans and animals.

Book Synopsis

Behavior Genetics is an interdisciplinary area combining behavioral sciences and genetics. The study of behavior genetics has become increasingly important as we see growth spurts in finding genes involved in complex behaviors following on advances in molecular genetic techniques. This domain has now become a vast common ground for scientists from very diverse fields including psychology, psychiatry, neurology, endocrinology, biochemistry, neuroimaging, and genetics. However, there are not many textbooks or references to which students in behavior genetics can access for their research and class. The purpose of this handbook is to offer research guides to the studies of genetic and environmental influences on a variety of complex behaviors in humans and animals. Unlike previous behavior genetics textbooks, this handbook will discuss current research and topics of interest to psychologists, psychiatrists, and geneticists. Utilizing methodologies and theories commonly used in behavior genetics, each chapter will begin with an overview of the selected topic; current research and issues will be intensively reviewed; and we will direct future research on the topic at the end of the end of the chapter. So the handbook will integrate many of the basic issues of the Behavior Genetics and will enhance our understanding in many fields. Therefore, this handbook will provide future research endeavors for the next 10 years. Throughout this handbook the editor will collaborate with contributors who are internationally well known in the field. The Behavior Genetics Association members and the Behavior Genetics Editorial Advisory Board will be invited to review the manuscripts of this handbook.

From the Back Cover

Handbook of Behavior Genetics

Edited by Yong-Kyu Kim

With the mapping of the human genome, behavior genetics attracted interest as a new lens for studying complex behavior patterns and disorders. This specialty has evolved into an emergent common ground for scientists of diverse fields, including psychology, psychiatry, neurology, biochemistry, and endocrinology as well as genetics.

The Handbook of Behavior Genetics provides psychology, psychiatry, and genetics students with a solid research framework on the role of genes and other factors in a variety of intricate behaviors. Internationally-known experts begin each chapter with an overview of a subject and discuss its latest issues, advances, and controversies, and emerging areas of importance. The genetics of personality, pathology, and cognition are examined, with topics as diverse as childhood temperament, Down syndrome, exercise behavior, handedness, and speech disorders. Through these findings, contributors identify clear directions for the field in its next decade.

A sampling of the Handbook's coverage:

• Methods and models: biometrical, QTL, animal models.
• Twin studies of mental ability.
• Genetic and environmental influences on sexual orientation.
• The genetics of pathological conditions, including ADHD, antisocial behavior, childhood depression, schizophrenia, and autism.
• Attention and working memory.
• Substance use and abuse disorders.
• Cognitive aging.

The Handbook of Behavior Genetics brings new clarity to the ongoing study of nature and nurture, and is a suitable text for graduate and doctoral students in this robust field.

Review Quotes

From the reviews:

"To write the 34 chapters, Dr. Kim is to be congratulated on assembling a team of the leading behavior geneticists currently working in the field. ... this is an important contribution to behavior genetics reference literature and is certainly useful for behavior geneticists wanting a readily accessible survey of any topic it covers. Among the striking features of this handbook are the quality of the historical introductions and the high level of scholarship in the chapters. We expect this handbook will be widely used."--- (John K. Hewitt, Marty Hahn and Christina Hewitt, Behavior Genetics, Vol. 40, May, 2010)

"The handbook of behavior genetics (HBG) includes a diverse and fairly comprehensive compilation of chapters on topics ranging from human behavioral laterality to animal models of aggression. ... HBG an excellent companion text for undergraduate and graduate courses on behavior genetics, recommended reading for scientists seeking an introduction to the research area and a fine reference for the seasoned behavior genetics investigator. ... Overall, HBG is good reading for the novice and the aficionado ... ." (Arpana Agrawal, Frontiers in Behavioral and Psychiatric Genetics, April, 2012)

About the Author

Dr. Yong-Kyu Kim is currently an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Georgia. Dr. Kim has been an editorial board member of Behavior Genetics since 2002 (currently he is one of the Associate Editors) and is a very active member of the Behavior Genetics Association, which is the society affiliated with the journal.