Cognitive neuroscience has grown into a rich and complex discipline, some 35 years after the term was coined. Given the great expanse of the field, an inclusive and authoritative resource such as this handbook is needed for examining the current state-of-the-science in cognitive neuroscience. Spread across two volumes, the 59 chapters included in this handbook systemically survey all aspects of cognitive neuroscience, spanning perception, attention, memory, language, emotion, self and social cognition, higher cognitive functions, and clinical applications. Additional chapters cover topics ranging from the use of top-down cognitive processes in visual perception to the representation and recognition of objects and spatial relations; attention and its relationship to action as well as visual motor control; language and related core abilities including semantics, speech perception and production, the distinction between linguistic competence and performance, and the capacity for written language. Special coverage is also given to chapters describing the psychopharmacology of cognition, the theory of mind, the neuroscience underlying the regulation of emotion, and neuropsychological and neuroimaging evidence that supports the special status of self-knowledge in memory. This handbook provides a comprehensive compendium of research on cognitive neuroscience that will be widely accessible to students, researchers, and professionals working in this exciting and growing field.

How do we - societies and individuals alike - (sometimes) manage to act in line with our high priority goals when faced with tempting-yet-conflicting alternatives? In other words, how do we (sometimes) resolve a conflict between a superordinate, global goal and a subordinate, local one, and do so in favor of the global goal? These types of self-control dilemmas can be found in many contexts and may be described at many levels of analysis. Examples include the dilemmas faced by groups fostering cooperation among their members, when defection is more beneficial for each individual; dieters resisting a tempting cake, and the cognitive system trading off speed for accuracy in conflict tasks like the Stroop.
This book presents social, cognitive and neuroscientific approaches to the study of self-control, connecting recent work in cognitive and social psychology with recent advances in cognitive and social neuroscience. It consists of three sections: The Social, The Mental, and The Brain. The "Mental" section is the book's anchor, examining within-individual self-control processes at all levels: from low-level attention to motivation and motivational systems. The "Social" section looks at group processes, broadly defined, and how groups and societies (attempt to) resolve conflicts between their global goals and the individual's self interest. The "Brain" section explores the brain processes that underlie self control attempts and speak directly to mental-level processes.
In bringing together multiple perspectives on self-control dilemmas from internationally renowned researchers within various allied disciplines, this will be the first single-reference volume to illustrate the richness, depth, and breadth of the research in the new field of self control.