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.