This book, written by experts from across the world, provides a comprehensive, up-to-date overview covering all aspects of posterior fossa neoplasms in pediatric patients, including medulloblastoma, ependymoma, cerebellar astrocytoma, atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, chordoma, brain stem tumors, and rarer entities. For each tumor type, individual chapters are devoted to genetics, radiological evaluation using advanced imaging techniques, surgery, pathology, oncology, and radiation treatment. In addition, a separate section describes the various surgical approaches that may be adopted and offers guidance on the treatment of hydrocephalus and the role of intraoperative mapping and monitoring. Useful information is also provided on anatomy, clinical presentation, neurological evaluation, and molecular biology. The book closes by discussing in detail immediate postoperative care, the management of surgical complications, and longer-term rehabilitation and support. Posterior fossa tumors are the most common pediatric brain tumors but are often difficult to treat owing to their proximity to critical brain structures and their tendency to cause marked intracranial hypertension. Practitioners of all levels of experience will find Posterior Fossa Tumors in Children to be a richly illustrated, state of the art guide to the management of these tumors that will serve as an ideal reference in clinical practice.

First published in 1943, Vitamins and Hormones is the longest-running serial published by Academic Press. In the early days of the Serial, the subjects of vitamins and hormones were quite distinct. The Editorial Board now reflects expertise in the field of hormone action, vitamin action, X-ray crystal structure, physiology, and enzyme mechanisms. Under the capable and qualified editorial leadership of Dr. Gerald Litwack, Vitamins and Hormones continues to publish cutting-edge reviews of interest to endocrinologists, biochemists, nutritionists, pharmacologists, cell biologists, and molecular biologists. Others interested in the structure and function of biologically active molecules like hormones and vitamins will, as always, turn to this series for comprehensive reviews by leading contributors to this and related disciplines.
Key Features
* Reviews on the most current topics in the field, including:
* Fertilization promoting peptide--a possible regulator of sperm function in vivo
* Cytokines and pituitary hormone secretion
* Mechanism of GnRH receptor signaling upon gonadotropin release and gene expression in pituitary gonadotrophs
* Luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) neurons
* LH pulses and the corpus luteum
* Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor
* The physiological role of the melancortin receptors
* The growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor

Sleep Loss and Obesity: Intersecting Epidemics represents a major contribution to the field of sleep medicine. It is a comprehensive review of the neurobiology of sleep, circadian timing and obesity, the deleterious effects of sleep loss and obesity on health, and the worrisome associated social and medical costs in a range of patient populations and overall to society. The number of individuals who are obese has reached alarming levels. As a result, the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, heart disease, and kidney failure have also increased. The surgeon general estimates that the total annual cost of obesity in the US is about $117 billion. This cost is expected to escalate significantly because the number of overweight and obese children is increasing rapidly. Indeed, the new generation is expected to have a shorter life-span then their parents. In addition, sleep loss is emerging as an important contributing factor to obesity. People who sleep less or are sleep deprived tend to eat more, especially carbohydrates, and have a higher body mass index. Increased weight restricts the upper airway, causing obstructive sleep apnea and further sleep loss. In the end there is a vicious cycle of weight gain and sleep loss. In the past few years there has been a tremendous growth in our understanding of brain mechanisms controlling energy metabolism. Interestingly the neurons regulating waking also regulate feeding. There is also a mechanism that regulates the timing of feeding and sleep. In shift-workers this system is likely to be disturbed, and this has an adverse impact on both feeding and sleep. Sleep Loss and Obesity: Intersecting Epidemics is the first title to clearly examine how obesity and sleep loss are interacting epidemics. This fascinating title makes the link between energy metabolism, sleep and circadian timing; identifies poor sleep as a risk-factor for obesity in children and adults and offers treatment strategies for obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. This book will be a vital source of information for all physicians interested in sleep disorders and obesity. It will also be of value to neuroscientists, health system administrators, and policy makers.

A timely overview covering the three major types of glial cells in the central nervous system - astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes. New findings on glia biology are overturning a century of conventional thinking about how the brain operates and are expanding our knowledge about information processing in the brain. The book will present recent research findings on the role of glial cells in both healthy function and disease. It will comprehensively cover a broad spectrum of topics while remaining compact in size.

Written for students and general readers, this comprehensive encyclopedia provides entries on the history, theories, symptoms, tests, treatments, and current and future research for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-and the arguments relative to its diagnosis and treatment-have been prominent in health news for the last twenty years. In 2005, more than 100 physicians signed documentation in the medical community validating ADHD as a mental disorder. The Encyclopedia of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders traces the disorder's history in detail for students and adults, identifying the people, places, tests, symptoms, treatments, and current and future avenues of research for this disease. Striking young children and with a ratio of 2:1 males to females, the symptoms of ADHD can persist well into adulthood, making education and a career difficult for patients. Whether researching the disease for personal or educational purposes, readers will find this encyclopedia provides a complete foundation in everything related to ADHD. A-Z organization makes it easy for the reader to find necessary information

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation seeks to enable new and existing practitioners to learn and follow established TMS protocols. The individual chapters in this detailed volume describe methods for single and multiple pulse TMS as well as methods for TMS coupled with associated techniques, from electromyography to neuroimaging. The collection promises to facilitate growth and exploration of clinical and experimental TMS. As a volume in the popular Neuromethods series, chapters include the kind of expert implementation advice that encourages successful and reproducible results. Authoritative and practical, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation will serve not only as a good methodological introduction for those new to this growing field, but also as a source of continual reference for experienced practitioners when re-visiting older, exploring novel, or developing new concepts.

Calcium ions represent Mother Nature's 'ion-of-choice' for regulating fundamental physiological functions, as they initiate a new life at the time of fertilization and guide subsequent developmental and physiological functions of the human body. Calcium channels, which act as gated pathways for the movement of calcium ions across the membranes, play a central part in the initiation of calcium signals, and defects in calcium channel function have been found to result in a plethora of human diseases, referred to as the calcium channelopathies. Pathologies of Calcium Channels brings together leading international experts to discuss our current understanding of human diseases associated with the various calcium channels, from their molecular basis to potential future therapeutic targeting of calcium channels.

There are at least four reasons why a sleep clinician should be familiar with rating scales that evaluate different facets of sleep. First, the use of scales facilitates a quick and accurate assessment of a complex clinical problem. In three or four minutes (the time to review ten standard scales), a clinician can come to a broad understanding of the patient in question. For example, a selection of scales might indicate that an individual is sleepy but not fatigued; lacking alertness with no insomnia; presenting with no symptoms of narcolepsy or restless legs but showing clear features of apnea; exhibiting depression and a history of significant alcohol problems. This information can be used to direct the consultation to those issues perceived as most relevant, and can even provide a springboard for explaining the benefits of certain treatment approaches or the potential corollaries of allowing the status quo to continue. Second, rating scales can provide a clinician with an enhanced vocabulary or language, improving his or her understanding of each patient. In the case of the sleep specialist, a scale can help him to distinguish fatigue from sleepiness in a patient, or elucidate the differences between sleepiness and alertness (which is not merely the inverse of the former). Sleep scales are developed by researchers and clinicians who have spent years in their field, carefully honing their preferred methods for assessing certain brain states or characteristic features of a condition. Thus, scales provide clinicians with a repertoire of questions, allowing them to draw upon the extensive experience of their colleagues when attempting to tease apart nuanced problems. Third, some scales are helpful for tracking a patient's progress. A particular patient may not remember how alert he felt on a series of different stimulant medications. Scale assessments administered periodically over the course of treatment provide an objective record of the intervention, allowing the clinician to examine and possibly reassess her approach to the patient. Finally, for individuals conducting a double-blind crossover trial or a straightforward clinical practice audit, those who are interested in research will find that their own clinics become a source of great discovery. Scales provide standardized measures that allow colleagues across cities and countries to coordinate their practices. They enable the replication of previous studies and facilitate the organization and dissemination of new research in a way that is accessible and rapid. As the emphasis placed on evidence-based care grows, a clinician's ability to assess his or her own practice and its relation to the wider medical community becomes invaluable. Scales make this kind of standardization possible, just as they enable the research efforts that help to formulate those standards. The majority of Rating Scales in Sleep and Sleep Disorders: 100 Scales for Clinical Practice is devoted to briefly discussing individual scales. When possible, an example of the scale is provided so that readers may gain a sense of the instrument's content. Groundbreaking and the first of its kind to conceptualize and organize the essential scales used in sleep medicine, Rating Scales in Sleep and Sleep Disorders: 100 Scales for Clinical Practice is an invaluable resource for all clinicians and researchers interested in sleep disorders."

In the later stages of gestation, fetal functions undergo increasing change and development, preparing the fetus for the transition to its postnatal environment. Rapid maturation is witnessed in breathing, swallowing, sensory functions, sleep, and many other processes, with corresponding behavioral changes. By 35 to 40 weeks of gestation, fetuses are capable of living ex utero without support, but it is increasingly appreciated that even infants born at between 35 and 36 weeks can suffer long-term consequences. This book, which complements the author's previous volume on development of normal fetal movements during the first 25 weeks of gestation, discusses in detail the full range of behavioral phenomena observed during the final 15 weeks of gestation, with careful analysis of their mutual relationships. A key feature is the outstanding photographic material, difficult to obtain at this late stage, and the instructive graphs that are also included. The information provided will alert clinicians to deviations from the norm and to physiologic phenomena that can turn pathologic in infants born prematurely.

For many researchers virtual reality (VR) is first of all a technology. This vision is also well reflected in the growing research work concerned with virtual environments: most of it has addressed more the development of new rendering technologies rather than the highly interactive and dynamic nature of user-system interaction that VR supports. However, this focus on technology is disappointing for developers and researchers. To overcome this limitation, the book describes VR as an advanced communication tool: a communication interface in single-user VR, and a communication medium in the case of multi-user VR. This book is part of a general inquiry into the implications of new technologies like VR. The shifting structures of communication systems present historic opportunities and challenges for communication researchers and that these require multidisciplinary approaches to communication research. Virtual reality may become the ship that helps us sail the vast oceans of cyberspace. This book is our attempt to construct a paper telescope to scan the horizon for signs of communication (and life) in the age of virtual reality.

Editors hope that Regenerative Biology of the Spine and Spinal Cord appeals to the nostalgic sentiments of investigators and intellectuals in that it can be held in hand and provide a broad survey of leading edge science. At the same time its chapters can be digitally acquired for those established in the field to refine particular knowledge interests or gaps. Most importantly, we ask the reader, whomever that may be, to peruse without prejudice as countless more chapters will have been written before total spinal regeneration is achieved.

Before the 1960s, psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy were the dominant modes of treatment within psychiatry. These treatments have faced increasing scrutiny and skepticism as the movement towards evidence-based treatments has intensified and the mental health field has been asked to treat increasingly ill and severely character-disordered patients. Psychodynamic psychotherapy has lost status within the mental health field as other forms of treatment have developed a strong and well-funded research base. At the same time, the exciting bursts of knowledge about the functioning of the brain and the subsequent development of psychopharmacologic treatments have added to treatment alternatives. This development has served to help patients but also to decrease the frequency with which dynamic treatments are indicated. Criticisms of psychoanalytic treatments, which are grounded in elaborate theories of the mind that have been evolving since the late 19th century, have been valid to the extent that a scientific basis for the work was missing. Recently, however, there has been an explosion in empirical research on psychoanalytic theories and treatments. There have been more than 70 randomized controlled trials of psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, and much more research supporting psychodynamic principles and specific psychodynamic treatments for many diagnostic categories. In this volume of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Research: Evidence-Based Practice and Practice-Based Evidence we demonstrate the relevance of and scientific support for psychodynamic treatment across a wide range of diagnostic categories and treatment strategies. One of the difficulties in the field of psychodynamic psychotherapy is that researchers and clinicians have not embraced one another. Clinicians have felt that researchers are ivory tower academics not on the front lines of clinical care, and researchers have felt that clinicians have little ap

With an ever-increasing elderly population and the resultant rising levels of dementia-related disorders, preclinical research based on animal models is pivotal to our knowledge of underlying molecular mechanisms and drug discovery aiming at the development of therapeutic strategies alleviating or preventing the neurological devastation. In Animal Models of Dementia, expert researchers provide contributions that stress the importance of extensively validated animal models in drug discovery and development in order to predict clinical activity. Beginning with general aspects of animal modeling, related ethical issues, and essential methodological considerations, the highly detailed volume then continues with various levels of model validation, including pathological, behavioral, neurochemical, pharmacological, and imaging aspects, followed by sections focused on specific disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy and adrenoleukodystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia as well as vascular dementia and more. As a volume in the renowned Neuromethods series, this book offers a detailed, yet accessible, overview of currently available animal models in the field of dementia research, and touches, as well, upon more general areas linked to the development and use of animal models. Comprehensive and efficient, Animal Models of Dementia will significantly aid both experienced animal researchers as well as investigators on the verge of beginning animal model-based dementia research.

This is a most unusual book with profound social, political, and philosophical implications that will inform the national debate on intelligence. It combines personality, temperament, and intelligence in a common theory that demonstrates the fundamental psychological and social significance of human differences in brain function. Dr. Robinson goes from cell to psyche in a manner that will appeal to all who wish to know more about the interrelation of brain, mind, and behavior. The book is a well of facts and insights; it provides a sound basis for teaching and a powerful stimulus for research.

Pathophysiological states, neurological and psychiatric diseases are almost universally considered from the neurocentric point of view, with neurons being the principal cellular element of pathological process. The brain homeostasis, which lies at the fulcrum of healthy brain function, the compromise of which invariably results in dysfunction/disease, however, is entirely controlled by neuroglia. It is becoming clear that neuroglial cells are involved in various aspects of initiation, progression and resolution of neuropathology. In this book we aim to integrate the body of information that has accumulated in recent years revealing the active role of glia in such pathophysiological processes. Understanding roles of glial cells in pathology will provide new targets for medical intervention and aide the development of much needed therapeutics. This book will be particularly useful for researchers, students, physicians and psychotherapists working in the field of neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry.

This book summarizes recent advances in understanding of the mammalian and fish olfactory system and provides perspective on the translation of external odor information into appropriate motivational and behavioral responses. Following the discovery of the odorant receptor gene family in 1991, understanding of the basic biological mechanisms of the olfactory system has advanced enormously. Despite such rapid progress, however, it remains unclear how odor information is processed at levels beyond the olfactory bulb, including the olfactory cortex, olfactory tubercle, and orbitofrontal cortex. This book thus describes the most recent developments in olfactory research, with particular focus on the basic neurobiological mechanisms of the neuronal circuit function in the olfactory system and its related higher centers. Exploring the basic functional logic of the neuronal circuits in the olfactory system in this way appears to be crucial in understanding the workings of the complex neuronal circuits of the brain, particularly those in the cerebral cortex that link sensory perception to appropriate behavioral responses. This book is written for the coming generation of scientists: undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in the fields of neuroscience, neurobiology, chemical senses, food and nutritional sciences, medical science, sensory psychology, and behavioral sciences.

This book highlights the importance of the choroid plexus, which forms the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier and is the site of the major production of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The authors show that this barrier is crucial for maintaining important compositional differences between the blood plasma and the CSF. The choroid plexus epithelial cells also prevent the spread of infectious agents and other blood-borne entities to the brain tissue. Chapter topics range from the production of CSF by electrolyte regulation in the choroid plexus, to details on the selectively transporting nature of this barrier. Further, the authors elaborate on the important roles of CSF in sustaining brain health by providing hydration, solutes, and nutrients to the brain tissue. Readers will also learn how CSF circulates signaling molecules within the compartments of the brain and removes waste products from the brain tissue. Elucidating the regulation of these processes in the choroid plexus is not only important for the readers' understanding of normal brain development and function, but is also crucial for resolving a variety of cerebral challenges that lead to brain edema, as well as developing treatments for diseases. The book discusses disease models like hydrocephalus, sleep disorders, and age-related dementia. Its comprehensive coverage makes this volume a valuable resource for researchers in cell and neurophysiology, as well as graduate students of the neurosciences.

Neurons share more similarities with insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells than with any other cell type. The root of this similarity may lie in the islet's evolution from an ancestral insulin-producing neuron. The islet-neuron connection becomes less surprising as we learn more about insulin's involvement in functions far from its traditional role in mediating glucose uptake in muscle. The importance of insulin in the regulation of corporal aging has been established by the dramatic increases in longevity experienced by animals in which the adipose insulin receptor has been genetically eliminated, or in which the insulin-related daf genes have been mutated. New research suggests that, analogous to its influence on corporal aging, insulin also makes important contributions to brain aging and the expression of late-life neurodegenerative disease. Insulin plays a key role in cognition and other aspects of normal brain function. Insulin resistance induces chronic peripheral insulin elevations and is associated with reduced insulin activity both in periphery and brain. The insulin resistance syndrome underlies conditions such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are associated with age-related cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. This book discusses the mechanisms through which insulin dysregulation contributes to the development of cognitive impairment and late-life neurodegenerative disease. Given the recent pandemic of conditions associated with insulin resistance, it is imperative that we achieve a comprehensive knowledge of the mechanisms through which insulin resistance affects brain function in order to develop therapeutic strategies to address these effects.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of disability worldwide. Each year 1.7 million new TBIs occur in the United States, and it is also considered a signature injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Despite the relatively high incidence-within both civilian and military populations-the diagnosis and treatment, particularly of mild TBI/concussion, remains an inexact science. Traumatic Brain Injury: A Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis, Management, and Rehabilitation is a concise guide designed for neurologists, primary care, and sports physicians and other medical providers, psychologists and neuropsychologists, and athletic trainers who may evaluate and care for patients with TBI. The book features summaries of the most pertinent areas of diagnosis and therapy, which can be readily accessed by the busy clinician/professional. In addition, the book's treatment algorithms provide a highly practical reference to cutting edge therapies. A superb contribution to the literature, Traumatic Brain Injury: A Clinician's Guide to Diagnosis, Management, and Rehabilitation offers a well-designed, well-written, useful resource for all providers who treat patients with TBI.

1. Epilepsy: Past, Present, and Future 2. Epilepsy Classification: Seizures and Syndromes 3. Epilepsy Mimics 4. Epilepsy Diagnosis 5. Approach to the First Episode of Seizure 6. Epilepsy Pharmacotherapy: The Anti-epileptic Drugs 7. Epilepsy and Women 8. Drug-resistant Epilepsy 9. Status Epilepticus: The Current Status 10. Epilepsy Surgery

This text provides a study of Jean-Martin Charcot, a founding figure in the history of neurology as a discipline and a colleague of Sigmund Freud. It argues that Charcot's diagnostic and pedagogic models, explaining both how disease is recognized and described and how to teach the act of neurological diagnosis, should be considered through a theatrical lens. Considering the constitution of the living, moving body in terms of performance, Charcot created a situation whereby the line between deceptive acting and real pathology, scientific accuracy and creative falsehood, and indeed between health and unhealth, becomes blurred. The physician becomes a medical subject in his or her own display, transforming medicine into a potentially destabilizing, even grand guignolesque, discourse. Offering a unique insight into Charcot's work, his concepts and his methods, this text represents a unique and interdisciplinary analysis cutting across the fields of art and neurology.

From the preface: "Neural Metabolism In Vivo aims to provide a comprehensive overview of neurobiology by presenting the basic principles of up-to-date and cutting-edge technology, as well as their application in assessing the functional, morphological and metabolic aspects of the brain. Investigation of neural activity of the living brain via neurovascular coupling using multimodal imaging techniques extended our understanding of fundamental neurophysiological mechanisms, regulation of cerebral blood flow in connection to neural activity and the interplay between neurons, astrocytes and blood vessels. Constant delivery of glucose and oxygen for energy metabolism is vital for brain function, and the physiological basis of neural activity can be assessed through measurements of cerebral blood flow and consumption of glucose and oxygen.... This book presents the complex physiological and neurochemical processes of neural metabolism and function in response to various physiological conditions and pharmacological stimulations. Neurochemical detection technologies and quantitative aspects of monitoring cerebral energy substrates and other metabolites in the living brain are described under the "Cerebral metabolism of antioxidants, osmolytes and others in vivo" section. Altogether, the advent of new in vivo tools has transformed neuroscience and neurobiology research, and demands interdisciplinary approaches as each technology could only approximate a very small fraction of the true complexity of the underlying biological processes. However, translational values of the emerging in vivo methods to the application of preclinical to clinical studies cannot be emphasized enough. Thus, it is our hope that advances in our understanding of biochemical, molecular, functional and physiological processes of the brain could eventually help people with neurological problems, which are still dominated by the unknowns." -- In-Young Choi and Rolf Gruetter