Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience

Reviewed by Lucinda Carnell, Professor of Biological Sciences, Central Washington University on 3/6/26

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This recent book covers the major chapters and topic needed for an introductory behavioral neuroscience or introductory neuroscience course. Has all the standard topics including nervous system organization, neurophysiology, neurochemistry, neurodevelopment, the senses, behavioral regulation, learning and memory and executive functioning. But additional interesting chapters that are more unique are neuroimmunology and comparative neuroscience. This book has many clear examples and diagrams of experiments and experimental design. The chapters are not overly long but have good reference lists with links. It could be used to introduce topics and supplement with primary readings.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is highly accurate and detailed and presented in an unbiased way.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

As a new book (2024) with a recent update much of the material is very relevant with a focus on more emerging topics such as role of glia in signaling and a chapter on neuroimmunology, which has become very important in understanding neurodegenerative diseases. Current techniques and technology including transcriptomics with UMAPs and a section on brain organoids as a technique to study brain evolution. Also foundational concepts remain with nice updates based on newer information.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written very clearly. It is easy to understand. Interestingly the book development had a large input from students including student reviewers, making the writing style is approachable for students. The figures are good quality and design and are not too cluttered and well labelled with easy to read captions in many cases. Clear elements of universal design.

Consistency rating: 5

Even though there are different authors for each chapter, the language, organization and figures are consistent throughout the textbook. Each chapter has summaries, key terms, references and practice questions at the end of the chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter is well organized into subheading each with their own learning objectives. Also when in the pdf online or the web version there are linked references to previous sections or topics to connect ideas that can be accessed quickly and easily.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The structure and overall flow are well organized and consistent with other behavioral neuroscience textbooks. With overview of nervous system structure and function, followed by physiology, biochemistry, sensory systems, behavioral regulation and cognitive functions (learning and memory, attention and executive function).

Interface rating: 5

Interface is great and clean links and videos are seamlessly integrated into the text. Easy to find and jump through chapters and sections to find things.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were no obvious errors and textbook is very clean.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook makes an obvious effort to reveal the world as it exists with an inclusive representation of people, scientists, and society. The fact that each chapter is contributed by a different author make that doable. The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive.

It is clear a lot of work went into the design and structure of this textbook to make it student centered and at the same time with very detailed and experimentally driven. The design of the figures from scientific articles are well chosen and interesting. The graphics are well done and clean and clear. The writing is delivered with a less traditionally formal language to make it more approachable and descriptive for students new to the field. I appreciated the approach to take advantage of the web platform design to develop unique features. For example, in the introduction there are video interviews of the authors conducted by a student that asks about their past experiences as students and as current thoughts as researchers/scientists. I think that is original and awesome. There are also author recaps about the significance of the chapter topics to students and society. This makes neuroscience seem approachable both as a field and a potential career. Overall great introductory of behavioral neuroscience textbook.

Reviewed by Rodrigo Pedroza Linas, Visiting Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Kenyon College on 6/26/25

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience provides an extensive overview of key topics in behavioral neuroscience. It's organized like most other introductory books, starting with foundational topics like neuroanatomy and neurophysiology and progressing in complexity to ending with a few chapters dedicated to cognitive neuroscience. Among this book's strengths is that it covers important topics not frequently found in other textbooks, like neuroimmunology. Similarly, I find it particularly valuable that this book has a full chapter dedicated to comparative neuroanatomy (chapter 4), which, in my opinion, gives students a better perspective and helps them better understand and appreciate the different anatomical and functional levels of the neuraxis. On the flip side, the book doesn't have dedicated sections to communication and language processing or to neurological disorders; these topics are rather spread out in different chapters. Nevertheless, other open-access sources can easily supplement and expand these topics.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found this book's content accurate and rigorously based on published evidence. All concepts, explanations, and diagrams I reviewed were error-free and solid.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

As far as I can see, and acknowledging I'm not an expert in every topic, the book’s content appears accurate and up-to-date. The concepts and explanations are clearly grounded in evidence and presented with appropriate rigor. In most chapters, the sources cited have a healthy balance between foundational “classical” studies that provide the backbone and more recent research that offers an updated perspective. I think the book overall is circumspect enough to stay relevant in the foreseeable future.

Clarity rating: 4

The way many chapters, particularly the first few, are written makes it easy to follow, making sure every new term is completely defined before moving forward. However, some later chapters quickly adopt a more technical and less accessible tone. For example, I think some students would struggle with the "seizure and memory impairments" section in chapter 18; I think many students won't be able to adequately understand what interictal epileptiform discharges are to follow the rest of the section.

The list of key terms at the end of each chapter is helpful to keep track of important concepts; however, I think turning this list into some kind of glossary would boost its pedagogical strength.

Consistency rating: 4

As mentioned previously, the most significant consistency issue I found is the disparity in the prose across chapters, some of which are slightly easier to follow (e.g., chapters 2 or 17) than others (e.g., parts of chapter 18). I couldn't detect inconsistencies in terminology or theoretical framework, particularly within chapters.

The visual consistency is helpful: diagrams follow the part of the text that refers to them, helping illustrate the concept or system explained. As an exceptional example, I think all diagrams in chapter 2 greatly help to visualize and understand such a complex subject (i.e., the ionic bases of the membrane potential).

Modularity rating: 5

The book is structured and written in such a way that individual chapters or even individual sections can be assigned, depending on the topic that needs to be covered. I assigned my students selected sections from chapter 1 and chapter 2 to have them learn the organization of the nervous system, basic neuroanatomy, and some essential concepts of neurophysiology. They didn't have any issues focusing on those specific sections and finding the concepts I asked them to read about. Of course, not every chapter or section can be read in complete isolation; e.g., it's much harder to understand basic neurochemistry (chapter 3) without knowing how neurons work (chapter 2).

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

As mentioned before, the book follows an overall structure similar to other introductory textbooks. Individually, most chapters seek to progressively increase in depth and complexity. Sometimes that progression, however, seems a bit unconventional. For example, chapter 10 (motor control) explains the role of the PFC, basal ganglia, and cerebellum (in that order) before the motor cortex and the descending pathways. I understand the logic behind it, and I think such logic could be much better explained in the opening paragraphs.

Interface rating: 5

The book avoids large and uninterrupted blocks of text, which very often tire and confuse students. Additionally, since the book is completely available online, it offers two additional benefits: a contents sidebar that greatly facilitates navigation and the ability for students to configure the font size as they prefer. Even when some of my students chose to print out parts of the book from the PDF, they didn't find any issues with crammed text or distorted images.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't find any grammatical errors or nonsensical sentences anywhere in the book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I found that the descriptions of neurological patients are handled with care, avoiding stigmatizing language, which is commendable. Moreover, the book's visual contents make a visible effort to portray diversity, which, while not prominently featured, is also very much welcome.

All things considered, I think Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience is a good alternative to commercial textbooks. Its scope, depth, rigor, organization, and accuracy make it a great option to base an introductory course on.