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Digital computers in the behavioral laboratory
BOOK REVIEWS
147
WEISS, BEltNAItD (Ed,). Digital Computers in the Behavioral Laboratory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1973, viii + 460 Pp. $14.95. Computer technology is by now an essential ingredient of the up-to-date behavior laboratory and the present edited volume brings together a wide range of applications in greater depth than is seen in the typical journal article. Technical details are supplemented by infornmtion about how various projects began, how planning was undertaken, what problems arose and how they were solved. Psychophysics, psychopharmacology, neuroanatomy, and the experimental ana/ysis of behavior are all covered in working detail. There is a useful concluding chapter by William Simon for the reader who wishes to know how to choose an on-line computer system to meet his specific needs and budget. For the reader who already has a clear--albeit nontechnical--overview of computers, how they function, and what they can do, this book is an essential next step.
WYrtWICKA, WANDA. The Mechanisms of Conditioned Behavior: A Critical Look at the Phenomena of Conditioning. Springfield, IL: C. C Thomas, 1972, xii + 179 Pp. $11.50. For over two decades the author investigated the possible mechanisms of conditioned behavior at the famed Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw, working closely with Konorski and others. Pavlov concentrated mainly upon the conditioned reaction and the stimuli themselves tended to be neglected. Here Wyrwicka addresses herself to the process of conditioning and the nature of the conditioning stimuli. The first few chapters discuss the relationships between stimuli before and after conditioning and present possible mechanisms of formation of the conditioned neural pattern. The final chapters deal with sensory input and deficit, and the roles of sensation in feeding and presleep activities. This is a highly specialized book, clearly written but far from easy reading. It will be of appeal primarily to those interested in the theory of conditioned behavior and the neural mechanisms involved.
HAaMS, EaNEST (Ed.). Drugs and Youth: The Challenge o/ Today. New York: Pergamon Press, 1973, xi + 237 Pp. $13.00. In 1964, the editor's Drug Addiction in Youth served to alert the professional community to the growing problems of teen-age drug dependency. In the ensuing decade, matters escalated from bad to worse and the problem is now more pressing than ever. The present collection claims to highlight the changes in perspective that have come about since 1963, especially with respect to socio-cultural variables and innovative therapeutie strategies. While all the contributors seem to write from the vantage points of firsthand experience with addicts as well as their own professional expertise, too many of the chapters tend to lean too heavily on subjective conclusions rather than data. Thus, the overall level of the papers is at best uneven and, for the most part, this book has little to offer readers of this journal.
147
WEISS, BEltNAItD (Ed,). Digital Computers in the Behavioral Laboratory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1973, viii + 460 Pp. $14.95. Computer technology is by now an essential ingredient of the up-to-date behavior laboratory and the present edited volume brings together a wide range of applications in greater depth than is seen in the typical journal article. Technical details are supplemented by infornmtion about how various projects began, how planning was undertaken, what problems arose and how they were solved. Psychophysics, psychopharmacology, neuroanatomy, and the experimental ana/ysis of behavior are all covered in working detail. There is a useful concluding chapter by William Simon for the reader who wishes to know how to choose an on-line computer system to meet his specific needs and budget. For the reader who already has a clear--albeit nontechnical--overview of computers, how they function, and what they can do, this book is an essential next step.
WYrtWICKA, WANDA. The Mechanisms of Conditioned Behavior: A Critical Look at the Phenomena of Conditioning. Springfield, IL: C. C Thomas, 1972, xii + 179 Pp. $11.50. For over two decades the author investigated the possible mechanisms of conditioned behavior at the famed Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology in Warsaw, working closely with Konorski and others. Pavlov concentrated mainly upon the conditioned reaction and the stimuli themselves tended to be neglected. Here Wyrwicka addresses herself to the process of conditioning and the nature of the conditioning stimuli. The first few chapters discuss the relationships between stimuli before and after conditioning and present possible mechanisms of formation of the conditioned neural pattern. The final chapters deal with sensory input and deficit, and the roles of sensation in feeding and presleep activities. This is a highly specialized book, clearly written but far from easy reading. It will be of appeal primarily to those interested in the theory of conditioned behavior and the neural mechanisms involved.
HAaMS, EaNEST (Ed.). Drugs and Youth: The Challenge o/ Today. New York: Pergamon Press, 1973, xi + 237 Pp. $13.00. In 1964, the editor's Drug Addiction in Youth served to alert the professional community to the growing problems of teen-age drug dependency. In the ensuing decade, matters escalated from bad to worse and the problem is now more pressing than ever. The present collection claims to highlight the changes in perspective that have come about since 1963, especially with respect to socio-cultural variables and innovative therapeutie strategies. While all the contributors seem to write from the vantage points of firsthand experience with addicts as well as their own professional expertise, too many of the chapters tend to lean too heavily on subjective conclusions rather than data. Thus, the overall level of the papers is at best uneven and, for the most part, this book has little to offer readers of this journal.