Announcement of 2015 Special Issue

Abstract

Social behaviour is an integral part of the behavioural repertoire of mammals. It is essential for survival, and many psychiatric disorders are associated with social dysfunctions. Therefore, we are happy to announce that the topic of the 2015 Special Issue of Behavioural Pharmacology will be social behaviour, in its widest sense. This includes: intraspecies aggression and social hierarchies; sexual, parental, affiliative and cooperative behaviours; social investigation and recognition; and social play behaviour and social development. Some of these behaviours represent very traditional areas of research interest within behavioural pharmacology (e.g. aggressive and sexual behaviours), whereas others (e.g. affiliative behaviours; social recognition) have attracted more recent interest. Relevant approaches include: drug influences on social behaviour; modulation of drug effects by social interactions; and the neuropharmacological basis of these phenomena. This Special Issue is intended to provide a showcase for research across a broad spectrum of topic areas, including studies involving both animal and human subjects. We now invite behavioural pharmacologists working in any area of social behaviour to submit reports of original, unpublished empirical studies, for inclusion in the Special Issue. Review papers are also welcome, but as the Special Issue may include a number of invited reviews, these should be discussed with the Editors at an early stage to avoid duplication. Also, please ask one of the Editors if you are uncertain whether a report of your research would be suitable for inclusion. All papers should be submitted online at http://www.editorialmanager.com/bpharm. Contributors are urged to submit as early as possible, and should in any case aim to do so before the end of February 2015. Later submissions might be accepted, but the later your submission is received, the higher the likelihood that it may miss the publication deadline. We guarantee, however, that any submission that meets quality standards but is accepted too late for inclusion in the Special Issue will be published as soon as possible thereafter. Paul Willner (Editor) Jack Bergman (Associate Editor) Louk Vanderschuren (Associate Editor) Bart Ellenbroek (Reviews Editor)