Electrodermal Activity in Psychological Research summarizes the methodological problems involved in the application of electrodermal activity as a dependent variable to basic psychophysiological research. The approach of this nine-chapter book is generally from the molecular to the molar in sequence of chapters, from basic to applied research, and from the more elementary to the more complex independent variable manipulation. This book covers first the terminology, recording and measuring techniques, electronic circuits, and current theories of the physiological mechanisms of electrodermal responding. The following chapters deal with the theories of attention and arousal; the indices of electrodermal activity and their relationships to these theories; the problems of measurement and control; and the effects of various independent variable manipulation on simple and differential conditioning performance. The discussions then shift to instrumental conditioning of electrodermal activity and the use of electrodermal measures in research on personality and pathological states, such as with schizophrenics, retardates, depressives, psychotherapy, central nervous system damage, anxiety, and introversion-extroversion. This text further considers the presumed mechanisms underlying systematic desensitization and the relationship of these mechanisms to electrodermal activity. A chapter explores the several widely divergent areas of social psychological research where electrodermal activity has been applied as a dependent variable, including in attitude, empathy, small groups, and social interactions. The concluding chapter evaluates the scientific basis for the application of electrodermal measures to deception detection field.

The domain of neuroscience has had one of the most explosive growths in recent decades: within this development there has been a remarkable and renewed interest in the study of the relations between behaviour and the central nervous system. Part of this new attention is connected with the contribution of new technologies (PET, fMRI) permitting more precise mapping of neural structures responsible for cognitive functions and the development of new theoretical models of mental activities. The diffusion of new pathologies (for example the pattern of cognitive impairment associated with AIDS) has further enlarged the field of clinical neuropsychology. Finally there has been an expanding clinical interest in the understanding and management of age-related cognitive changes. This volume is the translated and updated version of the second edition of Manuale di Neuropsicologia (Zanichelli, 1996), by the same authors, and it reflects the current status of the art. It is intended to blend clinical and theoretical aspects of neuropsychology. The first part discusses the instrumental and clinical methods of investigation in neuropsychology, together with their development. A long section is dedicated to the language and memory disorders. The impairment of non-verbal cognitve functions, such as the disorders of space orientation, of of visuo-perceptive abilities, and of the emotions and attention, are extensively discussed. The pattern of degenerative dementias is thorougly described, as e is thoroughly described, as well as a number of new topics, such as a neuropsychological approach to consciousness. Finally, perspectives for treatment of some cognitive disorders are outlined.