Table of Contents

Preface and Dedication 1. Toward a Universal Theory of Brain Arousal What Is to Be Explained? Ethology and the Mechanisms of Arousal Operational Definition of Arousal A Quantitative Approach to Physical Measurement of Generalized Arousal The Neurobiology of Arousal Constitutes an Interesting Application of Information Theory Claims for This Chapter and Introduction to Chapters Following 2. Anatomy Is Not Destiny, but a Little Neuroanatomy Helps Multiplicity and Redundancy of Ascending Arousal Pathways Prevent Failure Primitive "Master Cells" in the Brainstem Provide a Neuroanatomic Core that Theoretically Matches the Behavioral Data Long-Distance Lines Tuning Local Modules Summary and Hypothetical Implications for Human Behavior 3. Arousal Is Signaled by Electrical Discharges in a System of Nerve Cells Traveling Up the Brainstem Special Cases: Olfaction and Vision Informational Content Governs Amplitude of Response in Neurons Related to Arousal Cerebral Cortex, the EEG Electrical Activity in Three Arousal-Related Biological Systems 4. Autonomic Nervous System Changes Supporting Arousal; the Unity of the Body Patterns of Autonomic Responses Reformulations A High Information System Shows Coordination sans Correlation Supporting Hormone-Dependent Behaviors Summary 5. Genes Whose Neurochemical Products Support Arousal Genes Associated with Classical Systems Genes Newly Recognized Concepts and Questions Summary 6. Heightened States of Arousal: Sex Compared to Fear Sex Behavior's CNS Mechanisms Require Arousal Generalized Arousal Affects Specific Arousals and Vice Versa Contrast Sex and Fear Applicability of Information Theory Libido and Stress in Humans Summary 7. Major Systems Questions about Brain Arousal Networks What Are Universal Operating Features of Arousal Systems? How Do We Meet the Requirement for Rapid Changes of CNS State? Sensitivity and Alacrity of Response, Yet Stability? How? Does Automata Theory Apply? Questions in the Time Domain Questions about Spatial Properties Thermodynamics, Information Theory, and Questions for the CNS How Does a Sine Wave Impact a Sawtooth? Unity from Diversity? 8. Summary and Practical Importance: From Biological Mechanisms to Health Applications Main Points Applications to Human Conditions Works Cited Acknowledgments Index

Promotional Information

Donald Pfaff's book is highly innovative. He addresses a classic problem in neurobiology which has lain fallow for decades. Central nervous system arousal is fundamental to emotional and cognition yet I don't know of any other book or article that so thoroughly delineates the mechanisms and function of arousal in the brain. In addition to reviewing a huge body of neuroanatomical, neuropsychological and genetic data, Pfaff proposes a daring new theoretical approach based on information theory. Despite the technical nature of the book, Pfaff's main points are easy to understand. Pfaff has virtuoso command of the literature and has given us a brilliant set of new thoughts. -- Dr. Helen Fisher, Research Professor, Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University. Author of Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love Donald Pfaff provides fresh ideas for the framework of an old concept,"arousal". He takes the reader through the history of how the concept evolved and embraces the modern era by incorporating genetic findings into the established neurobiology underpinning arousal. This is not simply a review of the subject but a synthesis of old and new experimental findings to provide new ideas generated by a deep understanding of the subject. Updating ones knowledge is a pleasing experience, but being provoked to reconsider the subject in a new way is intellectually rewarding. Donald Pfaff achieves this distinction in Brain Arousal and Information Theory. -- E.B. Keverne, University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Society

About the Author

Donald Pfaff is Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at The Rockefeller University in New York City.

Reviews

The author’s contribution to our understanding of arousal mechanisms [is] both innovative and challenging… His most remarkable contributions are his repeated mention of the interplay between arousal systems and manifestations of cognition and emotion, his focus on information theory as a means of understanding arousal systems as universal response potentiators, with bilateral and bipolar properties. This book will be read avidly by those who are interested in any of the above-mentioned issues and by those who simply want to get a fresh look at the concept of arousal. In either case, the author’s intentions will be unmistakable: challenging readers to combine evidence from different fields and integrate it into a series of questions to guide much-needed research.
*Metapsychology Online*

Brain Arousal and Information Theory is a major step in the development of the 24-hour model of mental behavior that Freud envisioned and that psychology has ignored until now because of lack of data… Although this volume does not do it all, it does fill in some of the understanding of the complex brain mechanisms behind mental behaviors. As such it is a big step in support of those who have argued for the continuity of cognition across the wake-sleep states as well as affect regulation. Once they accept the challenge of accounting for cognition and emotional behavior across the 24-hour cycle, researchers into brain–behavior relations will find this book to be a resource of value.
*PsycCRITIQUES*

Donald Pfaff’s book is highly innovative. He addresses a classic problem in neurobiology which has lain fallow for decades. Central nervous system arousal is fundamental to emotional and cognition yet I don’t know of any other book or article that so thoroughly delineates the mechanisms and function of arousal in the brain. In addition to reviewing a huge body of neuroanatomical, neuropsychological and genetic data, Pfaff proposes a daring new theoretical approach based on information theory. Despite the technical nature of the book, Pfaff’s main points are easy to understand. Pfaff has virtuoso command of the literature and has given us a brilliant set of new thoughts.
*Dr. Helen Fisher, Research Professor, Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University, author of Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love*

Donald Pfaff provides fresh ideas for the framework of an old concept, ‘arousal.’ He takes the reader through the history of how the concept evolved and embraces the modern era by incorporating genetic findings into the established neurobiology underpinning arousal. This is not simply a review of the subject but a synthesis of old and new experimental findings to provide new ideas generated by a deep understanding of the subject. Updating one’s knowledge is a pleasing experience, but being provoked to reconsider the subject in a new way is intellectually rewarding. Donald Pfaff achieves this distinction in Brain Arousal and Information Theory.
*E. B. Keverne, University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Society*