Editor: Turhan Canli, PhD
Publisher: Oxford University Press – 459 pages
Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram

You probably never thought you will see the day when a physical and a social science merge. But here it is: you are holding an example of such a merger in-the-making. All of us know that molecules are microscopic units of physical matter, while psychology is an intangible study area. More later on what exactly “molecular psychology” means.

More accurately however, molecular psychology is not a merger but a new product of interdisciplinary studies. Call it a new child of its parents: physics and psychology.

Forty-one specialists in various biological and social sciences in the United States and eight other countries – Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, and the United Kingdom – contributed content to the 20 chapters of this uniquely-titled book in an exciting and novel horizon. The chapters are apportioned into three Parts:

  • Introduction and Fundamentals
    • Molecular Psychology: A Brief History and Introduction
    • Complex Trait Genetics and Population Genetics in Psychiatry: A Review of Methods
  • Applications  
    • Neuromodulation and Social Behavior in Insects
    • Social Regulation of Gene Expression in the African Cichlid Fish
    • Molecular Neurobiology of Social Bonding
    • Gene-by-Environment Interactions in Primates
    • Genetic Perspectives on the Neurochemistry of Human Aggression and Violence
    • Oxytocin and Vasopressin Gene Variation and the Neural Basis of Social Behaviors
    • Modeling the Genetics of Social Cognition in the Laboratory
    • Gene-by-Environment Mouse Models for Mood Disorders
    • Neurogenetics of Individual Differences in Brain, Behavior, and Risk for Psychopathology
    • Copy Number Variation in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
    • Molecular Foundations of the Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder
    • Is Depression an Infectious Disease?
    • Consequences of Early-Life Experiences on Cognition and Emotion: A Role for Nutrition and Epigenetic Mechanisms
    • Genetic Tools in the Erasure of Emotional Memory.
    • Genetics of Autonomic Nervous System Activity
    • The Genetic Basis of Positive Emotionality
  • Science and Society 
    • Genetics and Criminal Justice
    • Neurogenethics

This book is essentially about the biological basis of behavior. In it, the editor and authors of its chapters provide evidence of the “neural underpinnings” of our thinking, our particular psychological makeup, and our tendencies to certain involuntary and voluntary actions.

Findings from cutting-edge research studies from a broad range of sciences, both physical and social – such as behavioral neuroscience, clinical neuroscience, genetics, neuroethology, and of course, psychology – form the basis of this unique book. The diverse discoveries and conclusions from these findings constitute what is termed as “molecular psychology,” a sort of new science that has arisen.

The writers indicate that their collective work constitutes for the first time, a single volume that incorporates various types of physical evidence as links to human behaviors. The studies in this book use “molecular approaches” to investigate such phenomena as cognition, emotions, patient populations, psychopathology, social behavior, and stress in healthy volunteers.

A variety of non-human subjects such as fish, insects, primates, and rodents have also been studied with this new research approach. Some of the phenomena that the contributors looked into, using molecular methods, and provide their results in this work are: candidate genes, copy number variations, epigenetics, gene expressions, and genome-wide association studies.

They also address the ethical, legal, and social issues that have emerged from this new way of investigation.

In this work of over 450 pages, you will cover relatively new ground in molecular psychology when you read about such interesting and fascinating topics as the “neuromodulation of social behavior in insects,” the “molecular neurobiology of social bonding,” the “neurochemistry of human aggression and violence,” and “oxytocin and vasopressin gene variation and the neural basis of social behaviors.”

You’ll find answers to some questions that may have crossed your mind such as:

  • Is depression an infectious disease?
  • What is the genetic basis of positive emotions?
  • How is emotional memory erased and what are its related genetic structures?
  • What is the role of nutrition in early-life cognitive and emotional experiences?

So dig into this book. Discover a brand new physical basis of thought.

 

Editor:

Turhan Canli, PhD is Associate Professor of psychology and radiology at Stony Brook University, where he is the founder and director of the SCAN (Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience) Center and past director of the graduate program in genetics. Dr. Canli’s research focuses on individual differences in emotion, personality, and social behavior, and integrates the tools of psychology, neuroscience, and molecular biology.