Neuroscience

The hippocampus is one of a group of remarkable structures embedded within the brain's medial temporal lobe. Long known to be important for memory, it has been a prime focus of neuroscience research for many years. This book aims to facilitate developments in the field in a major way by bringing together contributions by leading international scientists knowledgeable about hippocampal anatomy, physiology, and function. This book offers an up-to-date account of what the hippocampus does, how it does it, and what happens when things go wrong. At the same time, it illustrates how research focusing on this single brain structure has revealed principles of wider generality for the whole brain in relation to anatomical connectivity, synaptic plasticity, cognition and behavior, and computational algorithms. Well-organized in its presentation of both theory and experimental data, this book illustrates the astonishing progress that has been made in unraveling the workings of the brain.

This book provides a review of developments made in the understanding of cellular activation phenomena in striated muscle. Basic physical, mathematical, and physiological principles are covered. The book consistently draws correlations both with cellular and molecular biological information, and their physiological consequences and significance. It is accessible both as a survey of basic concepts and as an authoritative review of recent work in the field. The book succeeds in explaining complex biophysics in such a way that the non-expert reader obtains insights into the molecular mechanisms of muscle activation and their control mechanisms, as well as in providing the expert with the detailed mathematical and experimental evidence.

This book offers an in-depth exploration into one of the most mysterious and controversial topics in neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry, and psychology — namely, the search for the biological basis of the self. It is a guide to understanding how the brain creates who we are, and what happens when things go wrong.

This book describes a century of research on how nerve cells communicate with one another, beginning with the formulation of the Neuron Theory and proceeding through studies embracing a broad range of disciplines. The Neuron Theory initially depicted discrete nerve cells interacting at their points of contact (“synapses”); since nerve impulses were often identified as electrical signals traveling along neuronal processes, it seemed plausible that impulses would also pass from cell to cell electrically. Over the next hundred years, however, ingenious experiments, facilitated by powerful new techniques and interpreted with imaginative new insights, established new accounts rich in scientific detail: communication was generally achieved by releasing chemicals from one neuron to interact with specific receptors on another, thereby initiating complex chains of metabolic alterations as well as eliciting electrical responses; neurotransmitters were stored in vesicles for release onto postsynaptic neurons, and transport back into presynaptic neurons terminated the actions of some neurotransmitters whereas metabolic degradation terminated the actions of others. The formation of specific synapses during embryological development and the alterations in synaptic transmission accompanying learning also required intricate chains of cellular modifications. Disorders of synaptic transmission could result in neurological and psychiatric diseases, whereas drugs affecting particular steps in synaptic transmission could achieve dramatic therapeutic responses.

Although the major features of neural development have been known for nearly a century, it is only relatively recently that the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms have begun to be uncovered. Among the many factors accountable for the transformation of developmental neurobiology from a largely descriptive to an analytic and mechanistic discipline, two stand out as singularly important. First has been the application of molecular genetic methods to the study of such events and neural induction, the determination of neuronal phenotypes, the establishment of neuronal processes, and the formation of specific patterns of connections. The second factor has been the use of a variety of “model” organisms: each offering particular advantages in the study of one or another developmental process. The pace of new advances often overwhelms experienced workers in the field. This book updates and introduces the subject and also details recent successes in understanding the early events of neural development.

Neurons are arguably the most complex of all cells. From the action of these cells comes movement, thought, and consciousness. It is a challenging task to understand what molecules direct the various diverse aspects of their function. This has produced an ever-increasing amount of molecular information about neurons. This book teaches about the molecules that control information flow in the brain or the progress of brain disease, it also includes access to a wealth of detailed information from a wide range of topics impacting different related fields of endeavour. In the six years since the first edition of this book there has been an explosion in the molecular information about neurons that has been discovered, and this information is incorporated into this edition. New chapters have been introduced where recent advances have made a new aspect of neuronal function more comprehensible at the molecular level. Written by leading researchers in the field, the book provides an essential overview of the molecular structure and function of neurons.

This book presents a summary of knowledge concerning somatic motoneurones, the cells which link the central nervous system to the skeletal muscles. There are two functional kinds of such motoneurones: the alpha motoneurones innervating skeletal muscle fibres and the smaller gamma motoneurones which exclusively innervate muscle fibres of complex intramuscular sense organs, the muscle spindles. This book deals primarily with the alpha motoneurones, which together constitute the main output interface of the central nervous system and without which no muscle action is possible. The study of motoneurones is important for general insights as to how neurones work, because the alpha motoneurone is probably the best understood kind of nerve cell so far in neuroscience. Motoneurones of the spinal cord were the first type of central nerve cell to be subjected to detailed physiological measurements, and much is known about how their activity is regulated by synapses from other neurones. For most of the individual neurones within the central nervous system, the precise functional tasks are difficult to define. However, for alpha motoneurones much is known about their short- and long-term interactions with their main targets, the skeletal muscle fibres. Functions of neurones must be analyzed in relation to the response properties of their target cells. Therefore, this book deals with both, summarizing classical as well as recent knowledge concerning motoneurones and their muscle fibres (i.e., motor units).

In the past decade, there have been tremendous developments in the understanding of the structure, biosynthesis, and function of glycoconjugates present in the nervous system. These developments were initiated by advances in the molecular cloning of glycosyltransferases that direct the synthesis of these complex carbohydrates. In particular, the molecular cloning of polysialyltransferases, HNK-1 sulfotransferase, ganglioside sialyltransferases, and proteoglycan sulfotransferases provided a great opportunity to determine the roles of these glycans in the nervous system. Moreover, the availability of gene inactivation by homologous recombination in mouse, the ‘knockout mouse’, has led to an explosion of knowledge in understanding the physiological functions of glycoconjugates during embryonic development and organogenesis. In certain studies, the physiological function of glycoconjugates in adult mice can be evaluated in depth by examining the phenotype of adult knockout mice. This book focuses on topics in and expands descriptions of neuroglycobiology, based on recent advances in this field. The book includes eight chapters from various authors representing the field of neuroglycobiology. In the first two chapters, the biosynthesis and roles of glycoprotein glycosylation are described. Chapter 3 describes HNK-1 glycans. Chapter 4 describes the biosynthesis and roles of the brain glycolipids. The biosynthetic pathway and the roles of gangliosides based on gene knockout mice are described in Chapter 5. The final two chapters are devoted to summarizing recent findings on diseases caused by abnormal metabolism in glycoproteins and glycolipids.

Disorders of the nervous and vascular systems continue to burden the planet's population not only with increasing morbidity and mortality, but also with a significant financial drain through increasing medical care costs coupled to a progressive loss in economic productivity. For example, more than 500 million individuals suffer from nervous and vascular system disorders in the world that comprise both acute and chronic degenerative diseases such as hypertension, cardiac insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and Alzheimer's disease. Given the vulnerability of the nervous and vascular systems, identifying the cellular pathways that determine cellular function, injury, and longevity may significantly assist in the development of therapeutic strategies to either prevent or at least reduce disability from crippling degenerative disorders. This book is intended to offer unique insights into the cellular and molecular pathways that can govern neuronal, vascular, and inflammatory cell function and provide a platform for investigative perspectives that employ novel “bench to bedside” strategies from internationally recognized scientific leaders. In light of the significant and multifaceted role played by neuronal, vascular, and inflammatory cells during degenerative disorders, novel studies that elucidate the role of these cells may greatly further our understanding of disease mechanisms for the development of targeted treatments for a wide spectrum of diseases. This book lays the course for the continued progression of innovative investigations and especially those that examine previously unexplored pathways of cell biology with new avenues of study for the maintenance of healthy aging and extended cellular longevity.

This book comprises coverage of the NMDA receptor. The NMDA receptor is an important protein in the brain, which is involved in physiological processes such as synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity, which may underlie learning and memory. Pathological changes involving the NMDA receptors probably contribute to the development of epilepsy, acute neuronal damage such as that resulting from stroke and chronic neuropathologies such as Alzheimer's disease. There is considerable interest in the development of pharmacological agents active at NMDA receptors as new therapeutic agents. Each chapter in this book covers developments in the molecular biology and the molecular pharmacology of the NMDA receptor.