The Orbitofrontal Cortex

'The Orbitofrontal Cortex' explores a part of the brain that is important in human emotion, pleasure, decision-making, valuation, and personality. In ten chapters the book describes:

· The OFC's connections;

· Its neuron level neurophysiology which is essential for understanding what information is represented in the orbitofrontal cortex;

· Functional neuroimaging of the orbitofrontal cortex;

· How it relates to the previous and succeeding areas in brain processing;

· The effects of damage to the orbitofrontal cortex which provides important evidence about its functions;

· How the orbitofrontal cortex is involved in psychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, and autism;

· How and what the orbitofrontal cortex computes;

· Future directions in understanding the functions of the orbitofrontal cortex in health and disease.

The book is unique in providing a coherent multidisciplinary approach to understanding the functions of one of the most interesting regions of the human brain, in both health and in disease, including depression.

The Orbitofrontal Cortex will be valuable for those in the fields of neuroscience, neurology, psychology, psychiatry, biology, animal behaviour, economics, and philosophy, from the undergraduate level upwards.