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Central Neural States Relating Sex and Pain

Richard J. Bodnar, Kathryn Commons, and Donald W. Pfaff

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Hormones strongly influence and even "drive" certain primitive behaviors. In Central Neural States Relating Sex and Pain, Richard J. Bodnar, Kathryn Commons, and Donald W. Pfaff examine hormonal, neural, and genetic mechanisms of reproductive, pain-sensing, and pain-inhibitory systems. The authors show that there are remarkable neuroanatomical, biochemical, and functional overlaps among these systems. They consider sensory inputs triggering both classes of behaviors and focus on the role of sex hormones in modulating both forms of behavior. Sex hormones acting in different regions of the brain...

Hormones strongly influence and even "drive" certain primitive behaviors. In Central Neural States Relating Sex and Pain, Richard J. Bodnar, Kathryn Commons, and Donald W. Pfaff examine hormonal, neural, and genetic mechanisms of reproductive, pain-sensing, and pain-inhibitory systems. The authors show that there are remarkable neuroanatomical, biochemical, and functional overlaps among these systems. They consider sensory inputs triggering both classes of behaviors and focus on the role of sex hormones in modulating both forms of behavior. Sex hormones acting in different regions of the brain not only energize reproductive behaviors but also modulate opioid-dependent pain-inhibitory pathways. The authors also summarize some intriguing gender differences in hormone actions and responsivity to pain.

The clinical implications of this field of research are numerous. Central Neural States Relating Sex and Pain will appeal to anyone interested in new ways of looking at behavioral dispositions as they are influenced by specific genetic, neural, and hormonal states.

Reviews

Reviews

This book is welcome in that it makes connections between two well studied but related neural systems: the systems that control sex and pain. This is a timely attempt that [will] be of great interest to neuroscientists. The scholarly achievement of this study is apparent; the authors have mastered a substantial literature.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
280
ISBN
9780801868276
Illustration Description
6 halftones, 47 line drawings
Table of Contents

Series Foreword
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Part I. Requirement for Motivational State Concepts
A. Physics, Brain, and Behavior
B. Motivation in Its Generalized and Specific Aspects
C. Motivation for

Series Foreword
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Part I. Requirement for Motivational State Concepts
A. Physics, Brain, and Behavior
B. Motivation in Its Generalized and Specific Aspects
C. Motivation for Females to Seek Males
D. Hypothalamic and Preoptic Mechanisms Involved in Two Types of Motivational Change
E. Summary
Part II. Ascending Arousal Systems Activated
A. Ascending Reticular Activating Systems
B. Structure of Arousal States
C. Application to Sexual Behavior
D. Clinical Observations on Human Awareness and Arousal
E. Mood
F. Summary
Part III. Descending Systems: The Importance of Opioid Peptides and Analgesia
A. Opioid Peptides in Pain and Analgesia
B. Analgesia Induced by Stress and Environmental Variables
C. Hormonal Control of the Enkephalin Gene: One Paradox and Three Solutions
D. Intimate Relations among Inhibitory Systems
E. Hypothalamic Projections
F. Gender Differences in Analgesia
G. Pain and Sex: Similarity of Reproductive Behavior and Analgesia - Ascending and Descending Pathways
H. Summary
Part IV. Inferences and Arguments
A. Gene/Behavior Relationships: Application to Opioid Peptides
B. Biological Importance of the Relations among Sex, Arousal, and Analgesia
References
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Richard J. Bodnar, Ph.D.

Richard J. Bodnar is professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Queens College of the City University of New York.
Featured Contributor

Donald W. Pfaff, Ph.D.

Donald W. Pfaff is professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior at the Rockefeller University. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.