The Orbitofrontal Cortex by David Zald, Scott Rauch

Product Details

Synopsis

The orbitofrontal cortex comprises the ventral surface of the frontal lobe, and is critical for functions ranging from olfaction and emotion to learning and behavioral flexibility. Since the time of Phineas Gage, this enigmatic brain region has intrigued clinicians due to its association with personality. Recent research has started to unmask the specific operational principles of the area. Simultaneously, advances in the clinical neurosciences increasingly implicate the orbitofrontal cortex and adjacent ventral frontal regions in a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions including anxiety, mood and addictive disorders, as well as frontotemporal dementia. This volume provides the first comprehensive review of the orbitofrontal cortex, and should be a standard reference for established clinicians and researchers as well as trainees in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, psychology, and neuroscience.
The book starts with a review of the structure of the ventral frontal lobes in human and nonhuman primates and the current state of knowledge regarding the region's neurocircuitry. This is followed by a series of chapters addressing the precise functions of the orbitofrontal cortex, with coverage spanning animal and human research. The book continues with chapters detailing methodological issues in neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessment of the region, and concludes with reviews of the area's contribution to psychiatric and neurological conditions. With chapters throughout by leading experts, and a foreword from Marcel Mesulam, the volume provides both a basic foundation that will be useful to students, and critical reviews that capture the sophisticated nuances,controversies and emerging concepts in the field.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Michael Joel Schrift, D.O., M.A. (University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine)
Description:It is an anachronism to believe that psychiatric disorders could be divided into the "organic" and "functional." All mental processes derive from brain processes; neuropsychiatric symptoms are manifestations of brain dysfunction; and neuropsychiatric symptoms are related to regional brain dysfunction and are not disease-specific. One area of the brain, the orbitofrontal cortex, is involved in many, if not most, psychopathologies. Psychiatrists can no longer ignore the brain and neurologists can no longer ignore behavior! Psychiatry has re-emerged with neuropsychiatry and this outstanding book is emblematic of this renaissance. Written and edited by internationally recognized neuroscientists, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in brain-behavior relationships.
Purpose:The purpose is to provide a comprehensive review of the orbitofrontal cortex in regards to advances in the neurosciences implicating this region of the brain in a variety of maladies including anxiety, mood, addictive, and psychotic disorders as well as frontotemporal dementia.
Audience:The intended audience includes graduate students, neuroscientists, neuropsychologists, and behavioral neurologists/neuropsychiatrists. It should be required reading for psychiatry residents and behavioral neurology/neuropsychiatry fellows.
Features:Part 1 of the book's three parts covers anatomical issues including connectivity, archtectonics, and emotion - information processing circuitry. Part 2 reviews orbitofrontal functionsincluding reward and learning, inhibitory control of emotions, memory, decision-making, and neurochemical modulation. Part 3 details the neuropsychiatric manifestations of orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction with chapters on drug addiction, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychopathy, and frontotemporal dementia. Each chapter ends with timely and relevant citations of the scientific literature.
Assessment:This is an excellent book on the orbitofrontal cortex and its importance in behavior and cognition. All neuroscientists could enhance their knowledge base by reading this enjoyable book. I highly recommend it.

Biography

David H. Zald, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of psychology and a member of the Integrative Neuroscience program at Vanderbilt University. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota and completed neuropsychological training at the Ann Arbor Veterans Affairs Medical Center/University of Michigan Hospital Program in Neuropsychology. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in functional neuroimaging at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of Minnesota before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt. Dr. Zald's research focuses on the neuropsychology of emotions, with a particular emphasis on the functions of the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex.
Scott L Rauch received his undergraduate degree with honors in Neuroscience from Amherst College
and attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati. He completed his residency training in Psychiatry as well as a Radiology Research Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Currently, Dr. Rauch is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Associate Chief of Psychiatry for Neuroscience Research at MGH, where he also serves as Director of the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and the MGH Division of Psychiatric Neuroscience Research and Neurotherapeutics. Clinically, he provides consultation in cases of treatment-resistant obsessive compulsive disorders. Dr. Rauch has contributed over 250 publications to the scientific literature and serves on the editorial boards of six journals. His principal scientific interests relate to neuroimaging and the neurobiology of anxiety disorders.