Neuroscience

This book examines tinnitus from the viewpoint of a neuroscientist with a long background in translational research. Therefore the book focuses on the understanding of the mechanisms that underlie tinnitus and is based on data-driven approaches to characterize its properties in humans and in animal models. It is hoped that a better and coherent understanding of the findings from the various neuroscience methods, ranging from brain imaging, electrophysiology, and quantifying the subjective aspects of tinnitus, to molecular biology and genetic aspects, will lead to more and better science driven approaches to alleviate tinnitus and ultimately produce a cure. For the backbone for the book three well-researched animal models of tinnitus, the salicylate, noise trauma, and somatic models, and in addition, the hypersynchrony model that is aimed at the integration of these three models were used. The reasons to use these models are found in human research, which is extensively described. An extensive discussion of the pros and cons of behavioral animal models that are employed to decide whether an animal has tinnitus is presented. The book advocates the role that modified brain networks may play in generating and maintaining tinnitus. This is the most speculative part of the book. Epidemiology and etiology, and evidence-based management of tinnitus have their own place at the beginning and end of this book.

To understand what is happening in the brain in the moment you decide, at will, to summon to consciousness a passage of Mozart's music, or decide to take a deep breath, is like trying to ‘catch a phantom by the tail’. Consciousness remains that most elusive of all human phenomena — one so mysterious that even our highly developed knowledge of brain function can only partly explain it. This book traces the origins of consciousness. It takes the investigation back many years in an attempt to uncover just how consciousness might have first emerged. Consciousness did not develop suddenly in humans — it evolved gradually. The book investigates the evolution of consciousness. Central to the book is the idea that the primal emotions — elements of instinctive behaviour — were the first dawning of consciousness. Throughout the book examines instinctive behaviours, such as hunger for air, hunger for minerals, thirst, and pain, arguing that the emotions elicited from these behaviours and desire for gratification culminated in the first conscious states. To develop the theory the book looks at behaviour at different levels of the evolutionary tree, for example of octopuses, fish, snakes, birds, and elephants. Coupled with findings from neuroimaging studies, and the viewpoints on consciousness from figures in philosophy and neuroscience, the book presents a new look at the problem of consciousness.

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.

Dyslexia affects about 10% of all children and is a potent cause of loss of self-confidence, personal and family misery, and waste of potential. Although the dominant view is that it is caused by specifically linguistic/phonological weakness, recent research within the field of neuroscience has shown that it is associated with visual processing problems as well. These discoveries have led to a resurgence in visual methods of treatment, which have shown promising results. This book brings together cutting edge research from a range of disciplines — including neurology, neuroscience, and the vision sciences, to present the first comprehensive review of this recent research. It includes chapters from leading specialists which, in addition to reporting on the latest research, show how this knowledge is being successfully applied in the development of effective visual treatments for this common problem. Sections within the book cover the role of eye movements in reading, visual attention and reading, the neural bases of reading, and the relationship between visual stress and dyslexia.