Molecular and Cellular Systems

The activity of neurons in the brain is noisy in that their firing times are random when they are firing at a given mean rate. This introduces a random or stochastic property into brain processing which this book shows to be fundamental to understanding many aspects of brain function, including probabilistic decision making, perception, memory recall, short-term memory, attention, and even creativity. This book shows that in many of these processes, the noise caused by the random neuronal firing times is useful. However, the stochastic dynamics of this can be unstable or overstable, and the book shows that the stability of attractor networks in the brain in the face of noise may help to understand some important dysfunctions that occur in schizophrenia, normal aging, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The book provides a unifying computational approach to brain function that links synaptic and biophysical properties of neurons through the firing of single neurons to the properties of the noise in large connected networks of noisy neurons to the levels of functional neuroimaging and behaviour. It describes integrate-and-fire neuronal attractor networks with noise, and complementary mean-field analyses using approaches from theoretical physics. The book shows how they can be used to understand neuronal, functional neuroimaging, and behavioural data on decision making, perception, memory recall, short-term memory, attention, and brain dysfunctions that occur in schizophrenia, normal aging, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Advanced material on the physics of stochastic dynamics in the brain is contained in the Appendix.

The biomedical sciences have recently undergone revolutionary change, due to the ability to digitize and store large data sets. In neuroscience, the data sources include measurements of neural activity measured using electrode arrays, EEG and MEG, brain imaging data from PET, fMRI, and optical imaging methods. Analysis, visualization, and management of these time series data sets is a growing field of research that has become increasingly important both for experimentalists and theorists interested in brain function. The first part of the book contains a set of chapters which provide non-technical conceptual background to the subject. Salient features include the adoption of an active perspective of the nervous system, an emphasis on function, and a brief survey of different theoretical accounts in neuroscience. The second part is the longest in the book, and contains a refresher course in mathematics and statistics leading up to time series analysis techniques. The third part contains applications of data analysis techniques to the range of data sources indicated above, and the fourth part contains special topics.

One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better clarification of the placebo effect. This is an active psychobiological phenomenon which takes place in the patient's brain and that is capable of influencing both the course of a disease and the response to a therapy. The psychosocial context around the patient is crucial to placebo effects, for example the doctor's words and attitudes, and this may have a profound impact on the patient's brain which, in turn, may affect several physiological functions of the body. This book emphasizes that there is not a single placebo effect but many. The book critically reviews them in different medical conditions, such as pain, neurological disorders, psychiatric and behavioural disorders, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders, as well as some special conditions, such as oncology, surgery, sports medicine, and acupuncture.

This book provides a review of historical and current research on the function of the frontal lobes and frontal systems of the brain. The content spans frontal lobe functions from birth to old age, from biochemistry and anatomy to rehabilitation, and from normal to disrupted function. The book covers a variety of disciplines including neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and health care.

The complexity of the brain and the protean nature of behavior remain the most elusive area of science, but also the most important. This book contains chapters written by twenty-three experts from many areas—from evolution to qualia—of systems neuroscience to formulate one problem each and discuss. Although each chapter was written independently and can be read separately, together they provide a roadmap to the field of systems neuroscience. This book provides as a source of inspirations for future explorers of the brain.

This book reviews the recent advances in understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that control the assembly, transport, targeting, and anchoring of the protein complexes making up the most important ion channels and receptor families, fundamental to synaptic function. Improved understanding of these processes is expected to reveal novel therapeutic targets relevant to a range of disease states. The first section of the book contains three chapters dealing with cation channels and provides an account of what is known about the structures and the assembly and targeting of these multimeric proteins. The focus of the book then moves on to cover ligand-gated ion channels with two chapters on acetylcholine receptors. The final section of the book contains four chapters covering the excitatory and inhibitory amino acid receptors. The book provides an integrated overview of advances in the field of molecular neurobiology.

Scientists currently study memory from many different perspectives: neurobiological, ethological, animal conditioning, cognitive, behavioral neuroscience, social, and cultural. This book aims to help initiate a new science of memory by bringing these perspectives together to create a unified understanding of the topic. The book began with a conference where leading practitioners from all these major approaches met to analyze and discuss sixteen concepts crucial to our understanding of memory. Each of these sixteen concepts is addressed in a different part of the book, and in the sixty-six chapters that fill these parts, a leading researcher addresses the chapter's concept by clearly stating his or her position on it, elucidating how it is used, and discussing how it should be used in future research. For some concepts, there is general agreement among practitioners from different fields and levels of analysis, but for others there is general disagreement and much controversy. A final chapter in each part, also written by a leading researcher, integrates the various viewpoints offered on the part's concept, then draws conclusions about the concept.

Sex is a fundamentally important biological variable. Recent years have seen significant progress in the integration of sex in many aspects of basic and clinical research, including analyses of sex differences in brain function. Significant advances in the technology available for studying the endocrine and nervous systems are now coupled with a more sophisticated awareness of the interconnections of these two communication systems of the body. A thorough understanding of the current knowledge, conceptual approaches, methodological capabilities, and challenges is a prerequisite to continued progress in research and therapeutics in this interdisciplinary area. This book provides scientists with the basic tools for investigating sex differences in brain and behavior, and insight into areas where important progress in understanding physiologically relevant sex differences has already been made. The book is arranged in three parts. The first part of the book introduces the study of sex differences in the brain, with an overview of how the brain, stress systems, and pharmacogenetics differ in males and females and how this information is important for the study of behavior and neurobiology of both genders. The second part presents examples of sex differences in neurobiology and behavior from both basic and clinical research perspectives, covering both humans and nonhuman animals. The final part discusses sex differences in the neurobiology of disease and neurological disorders.

The synapse not only provides a bridge from one nerve cell to the next; its function can be modified by experience, making it important for learning and memory. This overview of the synapse provides a review of current concepts in neurobiology, with specific reference to synaptic plasticity, neurotransmission, and neurotrophism. These areas have been advanced dramatically by the application of molecular biology techniques, and this book provides a synthesis of these advances. The book incorporates all the latest thinking and current research together with a brief historical overview of research in the field.

Synapses are the contact sites that enable neurons to form connections between each other in order to transmit and process neural information. Synaptic organization is concerned with the principles by which neurons form circuits that mediate the specific functional operations of different brain regions. One of the aims of this book is to show that the study of synaptic organization—in its full multidisciplinary, multilevel, and theoretical dimension—is a powerful means of integrating brain information to give clear insights into the neural basis of behavior. This book, which has been revised in this the fifth edition, details local circuits in the different regions of the brain. The results of the mouse and human genome projects are incorporated. Also the book contains support from neuroscience databases. Among the new advances covered are 2-photon confocal laser microscopy of dendrites and dendritic spines, biochemical analyses, and dual patch and multielectrode recordings, applied together with an increasing range of behavioral and gene-targeting methods.