Neuroscience and Behavior Research Guide
Reference Materials

Reference materials provide background or factual information on a topic. Most reference sources reside in the Reference area on the Lower Level of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library. Some particularly useful Neuroscience and Behavior reference sources follow.

| Atlases | | Biographical Resources | | Dictionaries |
| Encyclopedias | | Handbooks and Companions | | Indexes |

Atlases

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Biographical Resources

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Dictionaries

Animal Behavior Desk Reference: A Dictionary of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution (UM Science Reference QL750.3 .B37 2001)
Annotated dictionary of conceptual terminology used in animal behavior, ecology, evolution, and related branches of biology.

Blackwell Dictionary of Neuropsychology (UM Reference QP360 .B577 1996)
Entries are usually 4-5 paragraphs. Mainly for the upper-division major and graduate student.

*Credo Reference
Searchable database of full-text reference works, including dictionaries and encyclopedias of psychology, medicine, and biology.

Dictionary of Biological Psychology (UM Science Reference QP360 .D52 2001)
Defines terms used in the neurosciences and drawn from the fields of "biology, information theory, computer science, the neurosciences, among many others."

A Dictionary of Psychology (UM Reference BF31 .C65 2006)
Provides systematic "coverage of the more technical terminology of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, psychopharmacology, and statistics..." in addition to basic terminology of psychology and psychiatry..."

*Oxford Reference Online
Searchable database of full-text reference works, including dictionaries of psychology, medicine, animal behavior, and biology.

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Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior (UM Science Reference QL750.3 .E53 2004)
3-volume set contains 300- to 7000-word essays on a wide range of animal species and their behaviors, including aggressive behavior, behavioral physiology, cognition, development, learning, personality and temperament, and tool use.

Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (UM Reference BF31 .E5 1994)
Contains 5- to 10-page in-depth essays in four volumes.

Encyclopedia of the Human Brain (UM Science Reference QP376  .E586 2002)
4-volume set contains 224 articles on all aspects of the human brain and nervous system, for example: Neuropsychology of Alzheimer's Disease; Behavioral Neurogenetics; Dreaming; Hypothalamus; Memory; Neural Networks; and Stress.

Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences (UM Reference RC334  .E54 2003)
This 4-volume set is a "compendium of more than 1,000 entries...related to clinical neurology, neurosurgery, neuroanatomy, neurobiology, neuroepidemiology, neuroendocrinology, neurogenetics, neuroimaging, neurotoxicology, neuroimmunology, neuropharmacology, pediatric neurology, neurooncology, neuropathology, developmental neurology, behavioral neurology, neurophysiology, applied electrophysiology, neuroophthalmology, neurotology, pain, psychiatry, psychopharmacology, rehabilitation, critical care medicine, and the history of the neurosciences."

The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology (UM Reference BF31 .G35 2001)
Entries run from 1/2 to 2 pages covering concepts and notable scholars. Available online in the *Gale Virtual Reference Library.

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (UM Reference H41 .I58 2001)
26-volume encyclopedia covers all aspects of psychology, including behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, brain development and plasticity, cognitive psychology and cognitive science, developmental psychology, environmental psychology, health psychology, memory, and perception. Also available online: *International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences.

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Handbooks and Companions

Dictionary of Cognitive Science: Neuroscience, Psychology, Artificial Intelligence, Linguistics, and Philosophy (UM Reference BF311 .V56713 2004)
Provides encyclopedic definitions and discussions of the key concepts of the 5 core disciplines of cognitive science: cognitive neuroscience; cognitive psychology; AI; cognitive linguistics; and the philosophy of mind.

Handbook of Normative Data for Neuropsychological Assessment (UM Reference RC386.6 .N48 H36 2005)
Contains normative data for specific neuropsychological tests used by clinicians, researchers, and graduate students.

Hormones, Brain and Behavior (UM Science QP356.45 .H433 2002)
This 5-volume set contains long essays reviewing current scholarship of hormone-brain-behavior relations, "covering true molecular genetic approaches as well as neurochemical, electrophysical, zoological, neurochemical, developmental, and behavioral studies." 

Learning & Memory (UM Reference BF318 .E53 2003)
Brief articles provide a "comprehensive overview of key topics in learning and memory..." Includes biographical sketches of key individuals. 

The Oxford Companion to the Mind  (UM Reference BF31 .O94 2004)
Discusses "concepts such as language, memory, and intelligence" and presents "three 'mini symposia' -- on consciousness, brain scanning, and artificial intelligence." Available online in *Oxford Reference Online. 

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Indexes

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*Databases available on Library computers to all and off campus to UMass students, faculty, staff, and affiliates with an OIT account; enter your OIT username and password when prompted.