Introduction to the special series-behavioral medicine at 40: origins, achievements, and future directions.

The Journal of Behavioral Medicine emerged 40 years ago as a part of a concerted effort to promote a greater understanding of health and illness through the integrated lenses of behavioral and biomedical sciences. The aim of this special series is to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Journal of Behavioral Medicine through state-of-the-science reviews synthesizing the origins, evolution, current status, and future directions of key aspects of the field. In this introduction, we outline the impetus for this special series and highlight the key themes across the included papers.