Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Identify the spinal cord, cerebral lobes, and other brain areas on a diagram of the brainDescribe the basic functions of the spinal cord, cerebral lobes, and other brain areas

Cocaine afflicts many individuals and is potently addictive. Originally hailed as a wonder-drug in the late 19th century, cocaine is now considered an illegal substance. Cocaine’s addictive properties can be attributed to changes in the dopamine reward pathway of the Ventral Tegmental Area and Substantia Nigra, Prefrontal Cortex, Dorsal Striatum, Nucleus Accumbens, Amygdala, Globus Pallidus, and Hippocampus. This drug affects the brain in two processes: binge and crave. The binge process highlights cocaine’s ability to block dopamine reuptake from the synapse resulting in hyperstimulation of the postsynaptic neuron in the dopamine reward pathway. The crave process promotes drug-seeking behavior through conditional and contextual cues. Understanding the effects of cocaine in the brain may grant insight in creating future medication and therapies to treat individuals addicted to this drug.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Memories seem to be created in the blink of an eye -- we can recall an event as soon as it is over. But is this actually the case? Scientists know the key signals for memory formation but have lacked the tools to figure out the details, such as when and for how long particular molecules need to be active. By developing a more precise way of disrupting signaling, researchers have now defined this window for one of the most important molecules responsible for memory. Memories are recorded through changes in synapses, or the connections, between neurons. Many synapses are located on tiny bumps called spines that are found along the branching dendrites of neurons. When synapses are very active, like they are during learning or a memorable event, molecular signaling cascades turn on. These cascades strengthen synapses and make spines grow. The protein calcium/calmodulin kinase II, or CaMKII, is required for both of these events. But precisely when and how long CaMKII needs to act was unclear..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Along with preventing pain, one function of anesthesia is to keep a person from remembering unpleasant experiences. And yet, after surgery, a very small number of patients report distressing events, which can have long-term effects, including PTSD. Anesthesia usually ensures patients lack explicit memory, but implicit memories can still form. Previous studies have suggested that implicit memory formation can occur under sedation, via circuits in the amygdala. To investigate this phenomenon, researchers in Israel conducted experiments on monkeys undergoing anesthesia using two different drugs: ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist; and midazolam, a GABA coagonist. The team made single-cell neuron recordings on sedated animals while the animals underwent classical conditioning using tones and an aversive odor. Specifically, the monkeys were conditioned to take a deeper breath after hearing a tone, in anticipation of a noxious odor that would make them inhale less deeply..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

Psychology is designed to meet scope and sequence requirements for the single-semester introduction to psychology course. The book offers a comprehensive treatment of core concepts, grounded in both classic studies and current and emerging research. The text also includes coverage of the DSM-5 in examinations of psychological disorders. Psychology incorporates discussions that reflect the diversity within the discipline, as well as the diversity of cultures and communities across the globe.Senior Contributing AuthorsRose M. Spielman, Formerly of Quinnipiac UniversityContributing AuthorsKathryn Dumper, Bainbridge State CollegeWilliam Jenkins, Mercer UniversityArlene Lacombe, Saint Joseph's UniversityMarilyn Lovett, Livingstone CollegeMarion Perlmutter, University of Michigan

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain the functions of the spinal cordIdentify the hemispheres and lobes of the brainDescribe the types of techniques available to clinicians and researchers to image or scan the brain

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Accumulating evidence suggests that psilocybin – the primary psychedelic compound found in so-called magic mushrooms – can be used to safely treat a range of psychiatric conditions. Prior studies have shown that just one or two doses of psilocybin can have a rapid and lasting positive impact on mental health, but the associated brain mechanisms aren’t well understood. Now, researchers based in the United Kingdom have used functional magnetic resonance imaging to map the brain activity of nineteen patients with treatment-resistant major depression who were given psilocybin. The results shed light on how the compound changes human brain function. The patients were dosed with the drug as part of an open-label clinical trial. Before and one day after treatment, the researchers used fMRI to look at cerebral blood flow and brain functional connectivity – a measure of how different regions of the brain interact..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.