Jay Schulkin

As the active interface of the most biologically intimate connection between two living organisms, a mother and her fetus, the placenta is crucial to human evolution and survival. Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin explore the more than 100 million years of evolution that led to the human placenta and, in so doing, they help unravel the mysteries of human life's first moments. Starting with some of the earliest events that have influenced the path of placental evolution in mammals and progressing to the specifics of the human placenta, this book examines modern gestation within an evolutionary framework. Human beings are a successful species and our numbers have increased dramatically since our earliest days on Earth. However, human fetal development is fraught with poor outcomes for both the mother and fetus that appear to be, if not unique, far more common in humans than in other mammals. High rates of early pregnancy loss, nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, preeclampsia and related maternal hypertension, and preterm birth are rare or absent in other mammals yet not unusual in humans. Power and Schulkin explain why this apparent contradiction exists and address such topics as how the placenta regulates and coordinates the metabolism, growth, and development of both mother and fetus, the placenta's role in protecting a fetus from the mother's immune system, and placental diseases. In the process, they reveal the vital importance of this organ-which is composed mostly of fetal cells-for us as individuals and as a species.

Recently, an interest in our understanding of well-being within the context of competition and cooperation has re-emerged within the biological and neural sciences. Given that we are social animals, our well-being is tightly linked to interactions with others. Pro-social behavior establishes and sustains human contact, contributing to well-being. Adaptation and Well-Being is about the evolution and biological importance of social contact. Social sensibility is an essential feature of our central nervous systems, and what have evolved are elaborate behavioral ways in which to sustain and maintain the physiological and endocrine systems that underlie behavioral adaptations. Writing for his fellow academics, and with chapters on evolutionary aspects, chemical messengers and social neuroendocrinology among others, Jay Schulkin explores this fascinating field of behavioral neuroscience.

If you are a woman between the ages of 45 and 75 and are trying to decide whether to try, or stick with, hormone therapy (HT), or if you are a physician with patients fitting this description, this book is for you – unless you are looking for a simple answer. If you are looking for a simple answer, you can go to the web site of one of the companies that manufactures hormones or makes money by administering hormone therapy (e. g. , AntiAgingGroup. com), or you can go to the we bsite of an organization that advocates ‘natural’ aging (e. g. , the Inter National Organization to Reclaim Menopause; Inorm. org). Any impartial advisor, however, is going to admit that the answer isn’t at all clear-cut. Jay Schulkin, I believe the reader will find, is such an impartial advisor, and he is going to take you several steps beyond simply acknowledging the ambiguity; he’s going to educate you about the biology, history, sociology, business, and ethics of hormone replacement therapy. As a prominent scientist doing research on hormones, a medical researcher, an expert on decision making, he is the ideal guide to the intricacies of the topic. You might think that all of this sounds superfluous for making an informed decision: “Just the facts, please.

In this sweeping exploration of the relatively recent obesity epidemic, Michael L. Power and Jay Schulkin probe evolutionary biology, history, physiology, and medical science to uncover the causes of our growing girth. The unexpected answer? Our own evolutionary success. For most of the past few million years, our evolutionary ancestors' survival depended on being able to consume as much as possible when food was available and to store the excess energy for periods when it was scarce. In the developed world today, high-calorie foods are readily obtainable, yet the propensity to store fat is part of our species' heritage, leaving an increasing number of the world's people vulnerable to obesity. In an environment of abundant food, we are anatomically, physiologically, metabolically, and behaviorally programmed in a way that makes it difficult for us to avoid gaining weight. Power and Schulkin's engagingly argued book draws on popular examples and sound science to explain our expanding waistlines and to discuss the consequences of being overweight for different demographic groups. They review the various studies of human and animal fat use and storage, including those that examine fat deposition and metabolism in men and women; chronicle cultural differences in food procurement, preparation, and consumption; and consider the influence of sedentary occupations and lifestyles. A compelling and comprehensive examination of the causes and consequences of the obesity epidemic, The Evolution of Obesity offers fascinating insights into the question, Why are we getting fatter?

Cognitive Adaptation: A Pragmatist Perspective argues that there is a fundamental link between cognitive/neural systems and evolution that underlies human activity. One important result is that the line between nature and culture and scientific and humanistic inquiry is quite permeable - the two are fairly continuous with each other. Two concepts figure importantly in our human ascent: agency and animacy. The first is the recognition of another person as having beliefs, desires, and a sense of experience. The second term is the recognition of an object as alive, a piece of biology. Both reflect a predilection in our cognitive architecture that is fundamental to an evolving, but fragile, sense of humanity. The book further argues for a regulative norm of self-corrective inquiry, an appreciation of the hypothetical nature of all knowledge. Schulkin's perspective is rooted in contemporary behavioral and cognitive neuroscience.

If you are a woman between the ages of 45 and 75 and are trying to decide whether to try, or stick with, hormone therapy (HT), or if you are a physician with patients fitting this description, this book is for you – unless you are looking for a simple answer. If you are looking for a simple answer, you can go to the web site of one of the companies that manufactures hormones or makes money by administering hormone therapy (e. g. , AntiAgingGroup. com), or you can go to the we bsite of an organization that advocates ‘natural’ aging (e. g. , the Inter National Organization to Reclaim Menopause; Inorm. org). Any impartial advisor, however, is going to admit that the answer isn’t at all clear-cut. Jay Schulkin, I believe the reader will find, is such an impartial advisor, and he is going to take you several steps beyond simply acknowledging the ambiguity; he’s going to educate you about the biology, history, sociology, business, and ethics of hormone replacement therapy. As a prominent scientist doing research on hormones, a medical researcher, an expert on decision making, he is the ideal guide to the intricacies of the topic. You might think that all of this sounds superfluous for making an informed decision: “Just the facts, please.

In Effort: A Behavioral Neuroscience Perspective on the Will, author Jay Schulkin presents a two-fold thesis: there is no absolute separation of the cognitive and non-cognitive brain, and there are diverse cognitive systems, many of which are embodied in motor systems that underlie self-regulation. Central to this thesis is that dopamine is the one neurotransmitter that underlies the diverse senses of effort, and is apparent in most everyday activity, whether solving a problem in our head or moving about. As scientific literature abounds with studies of decision-making and effort, this book emphasizes the importance of demythologizing our understanding of cognitive systems in order to link motivation, behavioral inhibition, self-regulation, and will. Effort will benefit researchers and students in neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, as well as anyone with interest in this topic.

In Effort: A Behavioral Neuroscience Perspective on the Will, author Jay Schulkin presents a two-fold thesis: there is no absolute separation of the cognitive and non-cognitive brain, and there are diverse cognitive systems, many of which are embodied in motor systems that underlie self-regulation. Central to this thesis is that dopamine is the one neurotransmitter that underlies the diverse senses of effort, and is apparent in most everyday activity, whether solving a problem in our head or moving about. As scientific literature abounds with studies of decision-making and effort, this book emphasizes the importance of demythologizing our understanding of cognitive systems in order to link motivation, behavioral inhibition, self-regulation, and will. Effort will benefit researchers and students in neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, as well as anyone with interest in this topic.

The hunger for sodium has been used as a model system in which to study how the brain produces motivated behaviour. In this account of the field Jay Schulkin draws together information across a range of disciplines and topics, ranging from the ecology of salt ingestion to the sodium molecule and the action of various hormones. The phenomenon of sodium hunger was discovered by Curt Richter, the great American psychobiologist, over 50 years ago. Its study has been of interest for some time: to naturalists, psychologists, endocrinologists, physiologists and neuroscientists. This book offers a systematic account of the behaviour of the sodium hungry animal, the endocrine and physiological mechanisms that act to maintain sodium balance and then act on the brain to promote the search for and the ingestion of salt. Finally, the book provides a description of a neural network that orchestrates the behaviour of salt seeking and salt ingestion. Graduate students and research workers in psychology, physiology and neuroscience will find valuable information in this review.

The brain is a cognitive organ, and regions of the brain that traverse brainstem and cortical sites orchestrate the expression of bodily sensibility: intelligent action. They can appear perfunctory or intimate, calculating a sum or selecting a mate. Schulkin presents neuroscientific research demonstrating that thought is not on one side and bodily sensibility on the other; from a biological point of view, they are integrated. Schulkin further argues that this integration has important implications for judgements about the emotions, art and music, moral sensibilities, attraction and revulsion, and our perpetual inclination to explain ourselves and our surroundings. He begins the book by setting forth a view of the emotions not as a bodily burden to be borne, but rather as a great source of information. He then moves on to other domains, claiming that underlying the experience of aesthetics in at least some instances is the interplay between expectation and disappointment from its infraction, and suggesting that, among other things, repulsion and attraction to the cries and joys of others constitutes moral responsiveness. This book should appeal to researchers in behavioural neuroscience, emotion, and psychophysiology, as well as cognitive and social psychologists and philosophers of mind.

This book brings together the behavioral, physiological, and neuroendocrine regulation of calcium. An understanding of how the brain orchestrates whole-body demands for calcium is introduced. The approach is one in which behavior in addition to physiology serves bodily maintenance. The book links basic and clinical literature surrounding calcium homeostatis, as a wide variety of clinical syndromes are tied to calcium metabolism. Because calcium is so important during life stages particular to women, an emphasis is placed on the relevance of calcium to women's health throughout the book, though not exclusively since calcium is fundamental to both sexes.

This book brings together the behavioral, physiological, and neuroendocrine regulation of calcium. An understanding of how the brain orchestrates whole-body demands for calcium is introduced. The approach is one in which behavior in addition to physiology serves bodily maintenance. The book links basic and clinical literature surrounding calcium homeostatis, as a wide variety of clinical syndromes are tied to calcium metabolism. Because calcium is so important during life stages particular to women, an emphasis is placed on the relevance of calcium to women's health throughout the book, though not exclusively since calcium is fundamental to both sexes.

This text discusses the important role of steroids and neuropeptides in the regulation of behavior. The guiding principle behind the discussion is the concept of using good model animal systems to help us to understand how hormones influence the brain. The book emphasizes that steroids, and peptides or neuropeptides affect behavior by acting directly on the brain, and that common neural circuits underlie a variety of different central motive states. The first chapter focuses on developmental periods and sexually dimorphic behaviors; the second discusses sodium and water appetite, and ingestion; the third deals with appetite, food selection and ingestion. The fourth chapter examines how hormones influence parental behavior; the fifth is on fear and stress. The last chapter deals with biological clocks and endogenous rhythms. Senior undergraduate and graduate students in neuroscience, endocrinology, and physiology will find this text a useful guide to the role of hormones in behavior.

This text discusses the important role of steroids and neuropeptides in the regulation of behavior. The guiding principle behind the discussion is the concept of using good model animal systems to help us to understand how hormones influence the brain. The book emphasizes that steroids, and peptides or neuropeptides affect behavior by acting directly on the brain, and that common neural circuits underlie a variety of different central motive states. The first chapter focuses on developmental periods and sexually dimorphic behaviors; the second discusses sodium and water appetite, and ingestion; the third deals with appetite, food selection and ingestion. The fourth chapter examines how hormones influence parental behavior; the fifth is on fear and stress. The last chapter deals with biological clocks and endogenous rhythms. Senior undergraduate and graduate students in neuroscience, endocrinology, and physiology will find this text a useful guide to the role of hormones in behavior.

The hunger for sodium has been used as a model system in which to study how the brain produces motivated behaviour. In this account of the field Jay Schulkin draws together information across a range of disciplines and topics, ranging from the ecology of salt ingestion to the sodium molecule and the action of various hormones. The phenomenon of sodium hunger was discovered by Curt Richter, the great American psychobiologist, over 50 years ago. Its study has been of interest for some time: to naturalists, psychologists, endocrinologists, physiologists and neuroscientists. This book offers a systematic account of the behaviour of the sodium hungry animal, the endocrine and physiological mechanisms that act to maintain sodium balance and then act on the brain to promote the search for and the ingestion of salt. Finally, the book provides a description of a neural network that orchestrates the behaviour of salt seeking and salt ingestion. Graduate students and research workers in psychology, physiology and neuroscience will find valuable information in this review.