Neuroscience

The nerve impulse is the basis of all human thoughts and emotions, and of all sensations and movements. As such, it has been the subject of scientific enquiry for more than two centuries, beginning with Galvani’s chance observation that a frog’s leg twitched in response to an electrostatic discharge nearby. From being a metaphysical concept, the impulse became a phenomenon that could be recorded and have its velocity determined. However, the nature of the brief permeability changes in the nerve membrane that made the impulse possible, and of the way in which the nerve endings influenced the excitability of connecting neurons, remained problems that taxed the ingenuity of physiologists for many years. An important breakthrough was the discovery of giant nerve fibres in the squid, fibres large enough for new techniques to be employed, as in the voltage-clamp experiments of Hodgkin and Huxley immediately after World War II. The story culminates with the recent discovery of the 3-dimensional structure and detailed functioning of the ion channels, following MacKinnon’s X-ray diffraction studies, and with the revelation that a host of clinical disorders result from malfunction of the ion channels.

The head carries most of the sensory systems that enable us to function effectively in our three-dimensional habitat. Without adequate head movement control, efficient spatial orientation and motor responses to visual and auditory stimuli could not be carried out. This book is an account of the control of vertebrate head movements and its biomechanical and neural basis. It covers the entire spectrum of research on head-neck movements, ranging from the global description and analysis of a particular behavior to its underlying mechanisms at the level of neurotransmitter release and membrane biophysics. Physiological and anatomical aspects are stressed. The role of head movements in upright stance and other functional contexts within the vertebrate hierarchy is juxtaposed with the mechanisms of orienting behavior in a number of invertebrates. This reveals a plethora of solutions among different animal species for the problem of orientation in three-dimensional space. Although head movement control in humans figures prominently in this volume, the anatomical-physiological comparisons show that the human system is not unique. The conference from which this volume originated surveyed research and theory on motor control mechanisms in the head-neck sensory-motor system. It was held in Fontainbleau, France, from July 17–24, 1989. The book provides a broad panorama of methodological and theoretical approaches to the field of head movement control.

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.

Edited by Larry R. Squire, the seventh volume of The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography is a collection of autobiographical essays by notable senior scientists who discuss the major events that shaped their discoveries and their influences, as well as the people who inspired them and helped shape their careers as neuroscientists. Each entry also includes a complete CV so that the interested reader may see their rise through the ranks as they achieved some of the highest honors in neuroscience. Contributors to the seventh volume include: Floyd E. Bloom, Joaquín Fuster, Michael S. Gazzaniga, Bertil Hille, Ivan Izquierdo, Edward Jones, Krešimir Krnjević, Nicole M. Le Douarin, Terje Lømo, Michael M. Merzenich, John Wilson Moore, Robert Y. Moore, Michael I. Posner, Peter H. Schiller, Gordon M. Shepherd, and Robert H. Wurtz.

This book contains a collection of autobiographical chapters by notable senior scientists who discuss the major events that shaped their discoveries and their influences, as well as the people who inspired them and helped shape their careers as neuroscientists. Each entry also includes a complete CV so that the book tells the story of their rise through the ranks as they achieved some of the highest honors in neuroscience.

One of the most fascinating developments in the field of neuroscience in the second half of the 20th century was the discovery of the endogenous capacity of the brain for reorganization during adult life. Morphological and functional mechanisms underlying brain plasticity have been extensively explored and characterized. However, our understanding of the functional significance of these plastic changes is still fragmentary. This book shows that brain plasticity plays an essential role in the regulation of hormonal levels. The second aim is to propose that hormones orchestrate the multiple endogenous plastic events of the brain for the generation of adequate physiological and behavioral responses in adaptation to and in prediction of changing life conditions. The book starts by introducing the conceptual backgrounds on the interactions of hormones and brain plasticity. It then devotes itself to the analysis of the role of brain plasticity in the regulation of the activity of endocrine glands. It examines different hormonal influences on brain plasticity. Then, it goes on to cover the interactions of hormones and brain plasticity along the life cycle under physiological and pathological conditions.

This book provides an atlas of the normal human brain based on three dimensional reconstructions of magnetic resonance scans obtained in normal living adults as well as neurological patients with focal brain lesions. It provides detailed descriptions of sulci and gyri and illustrates how they appear in different brains. The book shows how different slice orientations obtained in the same brain produce different images that can be anatomically misinterpreted, in normal brains as well as brains with lesions. The book also addresses quantitative differences between the human brain and the brains of apes; gray and white matter differences between the hemispheres; and differences related to gender, age, and congenital deafness.

The field of research in 5-hydroxytryptamine has exploded into furious activity over the past decade and nowhere have the implications been more far reaching than in psychiatry. Thanks largely to the introduction of radioligand-binding techniques, a bewildering variety of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors has been revealed, and powerful new families of centrally active drugs have emerged. The importance of these new discoveries for psychiatric practice can hardly be exaggerated. To mention but one example, our understanding, and with it the treatment, of obsessive-compulsive disorder has been transformed in a very few years. The excitement continues, and almost daily, some important new insight, usually drug led, alters our whole perception of psychiatric illness. Due to this activity, the CINP chose 5-hydroxytryptamine and psychiatry as the topic for its first President's Workshop. The CINP is an international neuropharmacological organization renowned for its massive, comprehensive, and prestigious biennial congress. It recently decided to complement these with a different type of gathering, a small brain-storming meeting, dominated by a free-flowing discussion. The record of this first President's Workshop is recorded here.

Since the 1980s, MRI scanners have told us much about brain function and played an important role in the clinical diagnosis of a number of conditions — both in the brain and the rest of the body. Their routine use has made the diagnosis of brain tumours and brain damage both quicker and more accurate. However, some neuroscientific advances, in particular those that relate specifically to the mind have provoked excitement and discussion in a number of disciplines. One of the most thought provoking developments in recent neuroscience has been the progress made with ‘mind-reading’. There seems nothing more private than one's thoughts, some of which we might choose to share with others, and some not. Yet, until now, little has been published on the particular issue of privacy in relation to ‘brain’ or ‘mind’ reading. This book presents an interdisciplinary account of the neuroscientific evidence on ‘mind reading’, as well as a thorough analysis of both legal and moral accounts of privacy. The book considers such issues as the use of imaging to detect awareness in those considered to be in a vegetative state. It looks at issues of mental imaging and national security, the neurobiology of violence, and issues regarding diminished responsibility in criminals, and thus reduced punishment. It also considers how the use of neuroimaging can and should be regulated.