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Cover of Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues v2.0
Published: 
August 2024
Page Count: 
654
ISBN (Digital): 
979-8-88794-311-4

Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues

Version 2.0
By Martin S. Shapiro

Key Features

  • Balanced treatment of research and application, with examples drawn from situations ranging from head injuries in sports and the military to the opioid crisis, the obesity epidemic, genetic engineering and testing, and treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders
  • Over 185 embedded hyperlinks to author-curated, streaming videos engage students, stimulate curiosity, and enrich hybrid and online courses. Most are under five minutes long and feature animated illustrations (e.g., TEDed.com, 2-minute neuroscience, NOVA) or short interviews with scientists demonstrating their research
  • Uses everyday language but also ensures students are exposed to customary neuroscience terminology
  • Emphasizes biopsychology’s importance, explains the field’s roots, and debunks common myths while modeling critical thinking skills
  • Explains neural networks and anatomy without overwhelming the reader
  • Distinct coverage of key or high-interest topics, such as why studying neuroscience is important for psychology students (Chapter 1); research methods (Chapter 4); neuroimaging techniques (Chapter 4); behavioral genetics and polygenic risk scores (Chapter 5); eugenics (Chapter 5); vision, taste, and olfaction (Chapter 6); the auditory system (Chapter 7); the chemistry of sleep and modern theories of dreaming (Chapter 9); brain-gut axis (Chapter 10); biology of learning (Chapter 13); opioids, vaping, cannabis, and psychedelics (Chapter 14); addiction, depression, and anxiety (Chapter 15); traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) experienced by athletes and others (Chapter 16); and Alzheimer’s disease (Chapter 16)
  • Replete with rich visual illustrations, including depictions of key brain structures and nervous system processes to make the unseen apparent and readily understandable to learners
  • Supportive learning features
    • “Learning Objectives” at the beginning of each main section preview the material to come and prepare students to learn
    • “Key Terms” help readers understand and become comfortable with important vocabulary and phrasing
    • “Key Takeaways” at the end of each main section reflect the corresponding “Learning Objectives” and summarize key ideas in bullet-point fashion. “Key Takeaways” enable the learner to pause and consolidate the information just read or experienced into a "chunk." Consequently, students better understand and retain the section’s content and its key concepts
    • End-of-Chapter features facilitate class discussions or can be used to create excellent homework assignments
      • “Contemporary Issues” exposes students to revolutionary changes happening in neuroscience and how these issues might affect the future of the field. Compelling topics include international collaboration projects, brain-computer interface technology, artificial retinas, optogenetics, mind-reading neuroimaging, enhancing memory, naloxone and the opioid crisis, hallucinogens as treatment, and many more 
      • “Best Online Content” is researched by the author and provides links to rich, online resources for learning more about neuroscience. Selected for the sense of wonder and engagement they foster, these resources consist of online links to short talks, videos, podcasts, articles, and documentaries from world-renowned experts. Examples include TED.com, TED Radio Hour, NOVA PBS, Radiolab.org, SciShow, HiddenBrain.org, and Crash Course
      • “Suggested Popular Science Books” provides references to popular books about neuroscience and behavior written by experts in the field for a general audience. Examples include works by Robert Sapolsky, Maia Szalavitz, Michael Pollan, David Eagleman, and Oliver Sacks. These suggestions, researched by the author, provide students with another high-interest way to connect with the field
      • “Short Answer Questions” and “Discussion Questions” for assignment or independent student study highlight the preceding chapter’s key topics to stimulate analysis and deeper understanding
      • Glossary and References organized by chapter provide key term definitions and sources in one place for ease of studying and source checks
      • Multiple choice questions for “Best Online Content” and class discussion guidelines with suggested answer rubrics for “Short Answer” and “Discussion Questions” are provided in the instructor’s manual
  • All supplements are written by the textbook’s author
  • Customizable

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Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues is suitable for undergraduate-level introductory or fundamentals courses called Biopsychology, Physiological Psychology, Neuroscience, or similar titles that cover the biological basis of behavior. It can also be used at the master’s level for those students without a background in neuroscience. Biopsychology courses are offered primarily at four-year and, occasionally, at two-year colleges and universities.

This book is a visually rich and lively presentation of the relationship between behavior, mental processes, and biological factors such as the nervous system, biochemistry, hormones, and genetics. Discussions are couched within the larger contexts of psychology, biology, physiology, genetics, chemistry, anthropology, medicine, and computer science. 

Key goals of Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues are for learners to understand the basic functions of the nervous system, including functional anatomy; how neurons communicate; the biological basis of behavior; genetics in neuroscience; myths about the brain; the mind-body connection; drugs and drug addiction; brain disorders; research methodology; neuroimaging; and new research technologies. This textbook makes neuroscience relevant and approachable for all students interested in behavior and psychology. It is written in a style that is especially sensitive to students without a strong background in science. 

New in This Version

  • Current research reflects the newest research that is also the most likely to persist, such as advancements in neuroimaging, genetics, addiction and overdose, artificial intelligence, and treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders
  • Meaningfully addresses the COVID-19 pandemic’s significant impact on the prevalence of psychological disorders, as well as how the pandemic influenced research in neuroscience
  • Updated links to streaming videos and dynamic websites have been added throughout the text, and particularly in the very popular “Best Online Content” sections at the end of each chapter 
  • Updated statistics and information regarding obesity and diabetes, sugar consumption, drug addiction and overdose, and the prevalence of psychological disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the text
  • Ensures consistent use of gender-neutral language
  • Formatted in-text references adhere to the newest APA rules on citations
  • Big Brain Projects reflects recent progress on some large collaborative endeavors, such as The Human Brain Project, and introduces others that were not discussed in the first edition, such as the Allen Institute (Chapter 2’s “Contemporary Issues” section)
  • Updated information about epigenetics, ethics and genetics, and optogenetics (Chapter 5) 
  • New section “SNPs and Genome-Wide Association Studies” discusses polygenic risk scores (Section 5.2)
  • Updated information about sensory prosthetics (Chapter 6)
  • Expanded the defensive activation theory of function dreaming section, as recently developed by Eagleman and Vaughn, 2021 (Section 9.4)
  • “The Male and Female Brain” section now addresses more contemporary views on sex differences, including information about research on the brains of transgender people (Section 11.2)
  • Recast discussion of the monoamine hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD), including the review of recent articles that have questioned this hypothesis (Section 15.3)
  • Updated section entitled “Hallucinogens as Possible Treatment” (Chapter 15’s “Contemporary Issues” section)
  • Updated information about traumatic brain injury (Chapter 16)
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Instructor’s Manual

Instructor’s Manual

The Instructor’s Manual guides you through the main concepts of each chapter and important elements such as learning objectives, key terms, and key takeaways. Can include answers to chapter exercises, group activity suggestions, and discussion questions.

PowerPoint Lecture Notes

PowerPoint Lecture Notes

A PowerPoint presentation highlighting key learning objectives and the main concepts for each chapter are available for you to use in your classroom. You can either cut and paste sections or use the presentation as a whole.

PowerPoint Lecture Notes

Test Generator - powered by Cognero

Test Generator - powered by Cognero

FlatWorld has partnered with Cognero, a leading online assessment system, that allows you to create printable tests from FlatWorld provided content.

Test Bank Files for Import to Learning Management Systems

Test Bank Files for Import to Learning Management Systems

For your convenience, we've packaged our test items for easy import into Learning Management Systems like Blackboard, Brightspace/D2L, Canvas, Moodle, or Respondus.

Test Item File

Test Item File

Need assistance in supplementing your quizzes and tests? Our test-item files (in Word format) contain many multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short-answer questions.

At FlatWorld, we take pride in providing a range of high-quality supplements alongside our titles, to help instructors teach effectively. Supplements are available for instructors who have registered their adoption with us. If you need to review or preview something specific, please contact us.


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Martin S. Shapiro California State University, Fresno

Martin S. Shapiro (PhD University of Hawaii, Manoa) has worked at California State University, Fresno since 2003 as a professor in the Psychology Department. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in biology and a master’s and PhD in psychology. Before coming to Fresno, Martin was a biology and psychology instructor at Leeward Community College in Hawaii for several years prior to conducting post-doctoral research in behavioral ecology at Oxford University.

Martin’s primary research interests are in learning, decision-making, behavioral economics, sleep, and psychophysiology. He currently manages an active psychophysiology lab with several research students where they measure heart rate, skin conductance response, facial muscle movements, and facial blushing of participants playing economic games. He also collaborates with faculty from other departments interested in psychophysiological responses related to their areas of interest, such as viticulture (winemaking and tasting), social media, and television. 

He has taught courses in introductory psychology, biopsychology, motivation, learning and memory, developmental psychology, senses and perception, human physiology, biology, and animal behavior. Martin was a founding member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Global Challenges initiative to create curricula focused on the interconnectivity of key global issues. For several years, he was the chair of a task force for high-impact practices and project-based learning at CSU Fresno. He has received several teaching awards from CSU, Fresno, including a University Provost award for using technology in teaching, the Psychology Department’s instructor-of-the-year honor, and the student-selected Faculty Lecture Series.

Martin writes two books with Flatworld—The Science of Psychology: Connections and Contemporary Issues and Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues.

Additions & Errata

10/3/24:

Section 6.5: Fixed broken link for the "Prosopagnosia" video.

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