Brain and behaviour are intrinsically linked. Animals demonstrate a huge and complex repertoire of behaviours, so how can specific behaviours be mapped onto the complicated neural circuits of the brain? Highlighting the extraordinary advances that have been made in the field of behavioural neuroscience over recent decades, this book examines how behaviours can be understood in terms of their neural mechanisms. Each chapter outlines the components of a particular behaviour, discussing laboratory techniques, the key brain structures involved, and the underpinning cellular and molecular mechanisms. Commins covers a range of topics including learning in a simple invertebrate, fear conditioning, taste aversion, sound localization, and echolocation in bats, as well as more complex behaviours, such as language development, spatial navigation and circadian rhythms. Demonstrating key processes through clear, step-by-step explanations and numerous illustrations, this will be valuable reading for students of zoology, animal behaviour, psychology, and neuroscience.

'Behavioural neuroscience has long lacked a research-relevant, up-to-date textbook providing a comprehensive theoretical and experimental treatment. Seán Commins is to be congratulated for having written a vital and important textbook which should be at the heart of teaching behavioural neuroscience everywhere. Written carefully and clearly, replete with up to date research, cross-species comparisons as well as a strong focus on understanding experimental methodologies and how they relate to theoretical issues, this book should become the standard reference for teaching, and a prompt for further research.'

Shane O’Mara - Trinity College Dublin