How do human emotions arise, what functions do they serve, what is their evolutionary background, how do they relate to behaviour and the brain? These questions are put, and answered, in relation to the emotion of fear in this, the second edition of Professor Gray's extremely well known book, first published in 1971. In this edition, the text has been extensively modified and brought up-to-date, but the book maintains the style and general argument of the first edition.

The author's approach is from a biological standpoint; he emphasises the evidence that has accumulated from experiments by psychologists, ethologists, physiologists and endocrinologists. Although a lot of this evidence has been obtained from animal studies, it throws light on the psychology and physiology of fear in Man. Differences between individuals in their susceptibility to fear are treated with as much attention as the common factors are.

Jeffrey Gray is Professor of Psychology and Head of the Department of Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, London.

Problems in the Behavioural Sciences
There have been rapid and important advances in all the behavioural sciences in recent years. These advances have in one sense been very diverse and specialised - sufficiently so for a scientist to quickly lose touch with the current concerns of even neighbouring researches: but in some cases the developments have seemed also to be fundamental and perhaps convergent, with implications across a range of disciplines. In either case there is a real, and increasing, need for scientists to communicate their discoveries, hopes and difficulties, both to their peers in other disciplines and to a new generation of students in their own.

Problems in the Behavioural Sciences is designed to meet this need. The books are by leading researchers, and deal with problems of topics that are attracting a special current interest. The central subject matter is psychology, but many of the issues will need to be pursued across the existing (and fluid) boundaries between psychology and other behavioural sciences like physiology, pharmacology, sociology, ethology and linguistics