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Psychopharmacology of Social Play

  • Chapter
Ethopharmacology of Agonistic Behaviour in Animals and Humans

Part of the book series: Topics in the Neurosciences ((TNSC,volume 7))

Abstract

During the past decade, systematic methodologies have been developed for the experimental analysis of social play (Martin and Caro 1985; Meaney et al. 1985; Panksepp et al. 1984b; Thor and Holloway 1984a). For most of this century, play was considered a vacuous concept or a process of no great consequence for understanding brain organization of behaviour but now there is adequate evidence that play may be regarded as a fundamental neuro-behavioural category reflecting activity of a primal brain process. This category is seen as being elaborated by specific, genetically — ordained neural networks in subcortical areas of the brain. Although we presently know very little about the play circuits of the mammalian brain, we do know how to measure social play reliably, and how to bring it under reasonably precise experimental control. During the past decade, a preliminary psychobiological understanding of ludic processes has been slowly emerging.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Bowling Green State University, 43403, Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

    Jaak Panksepp, Larry Normansell, James F. Cox, Loring J. Crepeau & David S. Sacks

Authors
  1. Jaak Panksepp
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  2. Larry Normansell
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  3. James F. Cox
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  4. Loring J. Crepeau
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  5. David S. Sacks
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Duphar B. V., P.O. Box 2, 1380 AA, Weesp, The Netherlands

    B. Olivier  & J. Mos  & 

  2. Department of Zoology, University College of Swansea, SA2 8PP, Swansea, Wales, UK

    P. F. Brain

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© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht

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Panksepp, J., Normansell, L., Cox, J.F., Crepeau, L.J., Sacks, D.S. (1987). Psychopharmacology of Social Play. In: Olivier, B., Mos, J., Brain, P.F. (eds) Ethopharmacology of Agonistic Behaviour in Animals and Humans. Topics in the Neurosciences, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3359-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3359-0_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8009-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3359-0

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