This book provides a comprehensive overview of the role of neuroglia in neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroglia are the most abundant cells in the nervous system and consist of several distinct cell types, such as astrocytes, oligodendrocytes,and microglia. Accumulating evidence suggests that neuroglia participate in the neurodegenerative process, and as such are essential players in a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's. Intended for researchers and students, the book presents recent advances concerning the biology of neuroglia as well as their interaction with neurons during disease progression. In addition, to highlight the function of neuroglia in different types of neurodegenerative disease, it also discusses their mechanisms and effects on protecting or damaging neurons.

Over the years there has been growing interest among the scientific community in investigating sleep and how it affects the memory and other brain functions. It is now well established that sleep helps in memory consolidation and induction of neural plasticity, and that short-term deprivation of either total sleep or rapid eye movement sleep alone can induce memory deficits very quickly. Quantitative and qualitative changes in sleep architecture after different training tasks further suggest that discrete memory types may require specific sleep stage/s for optimal memory consolidation, and studies indicate that sleep deprivation alters synaptic plasticity and membrane excitability in the hippocampal neurons and synaptic up-scaling in the cortical neurons. Further, sleep alteration during pregnancy may increase the risk of depression and adversely affect maternal-child relationships, parenting practices, family functioning, and children's development and general wellbeing. This book coherently discusses all these aspects, with a particular focus on the possible role of sleep in memory consolidation and synaptic plasticity. It also highlights the detrimental effects of sleep loss on mental health, the immune system and cognition. This book is a valuable reference resource for students and researchers working in the area of sleep, memory, or neuronal plasticity.

This monograph provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in the field of vasopressin and oxytocin. In the summer of 1997, scientists from over 20 countries congregated in Montreal for the 1997 World Congress of Neurohypophysial Hormones, a conference that united the fields of vasopressin, neurohypophysis, and oxytocin in a single joint meeting that gave rise to this book. The organization of a joint meeting was prompted by several developments. Specifically the molecular characterization of the vasopressin/oxytocin receptor family made it mandatory to adopt an integrated view and to discuss the vasopressin/oxytocin ligand/receptor family as a whole. To ensure emphasis on novelty, the conference focused on advances made in the late-1990s and also included important contributions by scientist that had not previously been associated with the vasopressin/oxytocin field.

Neurovascular Coupling Methods brings the reader up to date with the current state-of-the-art techniques in measuring blood flow in the brain, with chapters describing different techniques or combinations of techniques, applied to specific species in either healthy or abnormal brains. Opening with a section on techniques in normal somatosensory processing, the detailed volume continues with parts covering techniques in normal visual processing, epilepsy and cerebrovascular diseases, such as ischemia, hemorrhage and spreading depression. As a collection in the popular Neuromethods series, this book contains the kind of thorough description and implementation advice that will lead to successful results in the lab. Authoritative and practical, Neurovascular Coupling Methods serves as an ideal guide for researchers aiming to further our knowledge of these coupling mechanisms in the hopes of ultimately understanding higher order functions such as language and memory and developing novel brain mapping techniques that can be employed in humans.

Tinnitus is a prevalent hearing disease, affecting 15% of the population, particularly hearing impaired, veterans and even young people who grow up with mp3 players and iPods. The mechanisms underlying tinnitus remain controversial. At present there is no cure for tinnitus, and treatment options are limited. Different from previous tinnitus books, including A. R. Moller's book [in press at Springer], which typically have a strong clinical flavor, the present volume focuses on neural mechanisms of tinnitus and its behavioral consequences. The proposed book starts with a general summary of the field and a short introduction on the selection and content of the remaining chapters. Chapter 2 overviews tinnitus prevalence and etiologies to set the tone for significance and complexity of this neurological disorder spectrum. Chapters 3-8 cover neuroscience of tinnitus in animal models from molecular mechanisms to cortical manifestation. Chapters 9-12 cover human brain responses to tinnitus and it clinical management.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury will improve readers' understanding of the complexities of diagnosis and management of traumatic brain injuries. Featuring chapters on drug delivery, different treatments, and rehabilitation, this volume discusses in detail the impact early diagnosis and effective management has on the long-term prognosis of these injuries and the lives of those affected. This book will be relevant for neuroscientists, neurologists, clinicians, and anyone working to better understand these injuries.

Although the fundamental principles of vocal production are well-understood, and are being increasingly applied by specialists to specific animal taxa, they stem originally from engineering research on the human voice. These origins create a double barrier to entry for biologists interested in understanding acoustic communication in their study species. The proposed volume aims to fill this gap, providing easy-to-understand overviews of the various relevant theories and techniques, and showing how these principles can be implemented in the study of all main vertebrate groups. The volume will have eleven chapters assembled from the world's leading researchers, at a level intelligible to a wide audience of biologists with no background in engineering or human voice science. Some will cover sound production in a particular vertebrate group; others will address a particular issue, such as vocal learning, across vertebrate taxa. The book will highlight what is known and how to implement useful techniques and methodologies, but will also summarize current gaps in the knowledge. It will serve both as a tutorial introduction for newcomers and a springboard for further research for all scientists interested in understanding animal acoustic signals.

As a career sociologist I ?rst became interested in neurosociology around 1987 when a graduate student lent me Michael Gazzaniga's The Social Brain. Ifthe biological human brain was really social, I thought sociologists and their students should be the ?rst, not the last, to know. As I read on I found little of the clumsy reductionism of the earlier biosociologists whom I had learned to see as the arch- emy of our ?eld. Clearly, reductionism does exist among many neuroscientists. But I also found some things that were very social and quite relevant for sociology. After reading Descarte's Error by Antonio Damasio, I learned how some types of emotion were necessary for rational thought - a very radical innovation for the long-honored "objective rationalist. " I started inserting some things about split-brain research into my classes, mispronouncing terms like amygdala and being corrected by my s- dents. That instruction helped me realize how much we professors needed to catch up with our students. I also wrote a review of Leslie Brothers' Fridays Footprint: How Society Shapes the Human Mind. I thought if she could write so well about social processes maybe I could attempt to do something similar in connection with my ?eld. For several years I found her an e-mail partner with a wonderful sense of humor. She even retrieved copies of her book for the use of my graduate students when I had assigned it for a seminar.

The electric utility industry and its stakeholders in the.United States appear to be at a critical juncture in time. Powerful forces of global proportions are propelling the industry instinctively and in a secular fashion towards restructuring. That the industry will change is a fait accomplii. The nature and timing of the change is still a matter of intense debate, however. Because of the evolution of the industry into its present-day form, i.e. regulated local monopolies in their designated franchise service territories, the relative roles and expectations of various institutions would have to change to conform to the new state in the future. In either encouraging, or allowing this change to happen, society is essentially saying that future societal welfare would be better served by the changed structure contemplated. What that assumption translates into in more direct terms is that creation of future wealth would be better accomplished through redistribution of wealth today. Thoughtful individuals recognize the enormous responsibility placed upon the various entities empowered with jurisdiction over the timing and nature of the structural change. They are trying hard to bring analytical rigor to bear on the debate. One very critical element of this debate on restructuring is the issue of the treatment of transmission. The issue has been variously labeled transmission access, or pricing. Volumes have been written and spoken on this topic.

Neural Crest Induction and Differentiation, written by an international panel of recognized leaders in the field, discusses all aspects of modern neural crest biology from its evolutionary significance, to its specification, migration, plasticity and contribution to multiple lineages of the vertebrate body, to the pathologies associated with abnormal neural crest development and function. Each chapter provides an invaluable resource for information on the most current advances in the field, with discussion of controversial issues and areas of emerging importance.

This book highlights the behavioral and neurobiological issues relevant for drug development, reviews evidence for an innovative approach for drug discovery and presents perspectives on multiple special topics ranging from therapeutic drug use in children, emerging technologies and non-pharmacological approaches to cognitive enhancement.

Devoted to local and global analysis of weakly connected systems with applications to neurosciences, this book uses bifurcation theory and canonical models as the major tools of analysis. It presents a systematic and well motivated development of both weakly connected system theory and mathematical neuroscience, addressing bifurcations in neuron and brain dynamics, synaptic organisations of the brain, and the nature of neural codes. The authors present classical results together with the most recent developments in the field, making this a useful reference for researchers and graduate students in various branches of mathematical neuroscience.

In 1961, neurobiologists found that the conduction velocity of the nerve impulse in the giant nerve fiber of the" Penaeus "shrimp abdominal nerve cord was over 200 m/s, the highest speed of information transmission ever observed in the animal kingdom. The peculiar myelin sheath with its unique nodal structure and the electrical properties of the nerve fibers of the shrimp have continued to be investigated for a quarter of century and are now fully described in this book. The investigation dispels the commonly held belief that the fastest recorded impulse conduction is about 120 m/s in the thickest vertebrate myelinated nerve fibers. In the shrimp, researchers found a completely novel type of functional node in the giant fiber which they designated as the fenestration node. In portions of the myelinated fiber, the fenestration node furnished the sites of excitation. Also discovered was a new strategy for increasing impulse conduction in the shrimp. The book includes a section on the formation of the fenestration node and the discovery of a strategy that allows the shrimp to escape its predators by an action of the fastest velocity. The data presented in this volume on the myelin sheath of invertebrates present a new direction for this field and a rich source of information for neurobiologists worldwide.

This volume is comprised of the majority of lecture presentations and a few select posters presented at the International Workshop, "Basal Ganglia and Thalamus in Health and Movement Disorders," held in Moscow, Russia, on May 29-31, 2000. The International Committee responsible for organizing this workshop included Alexander Konovalov, Director, Burdenko Institute of Neurosurgery of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Mahlon DeLong, Chair, Department of Neurology, Emory University, Atlanta, USA, Alim Louis Benabid, Chief, Neurosurgery Service, University of Joseph Fourrier, Grenoble, France, and the two undersigned. The workshop was conceived out of a desire to provide a forum for discussions of both basal ganglia-and motor thalamus-related issues by bringing together basic scientists and clinicians representing different disciplines, research directions, and philosophies. The primary goals were to encourage an exchange of information and ideas in an informal environment, to stimulate integration of the data from different disciplines, and to identifY controversial issues and the most essential questions to be addressed in future research.

Primer on the Autonomic Nervous System, Fourth Edition provides a concise and accessible overview of autonomic neuroscience for students, scientists, and clinicians. The book's 142 chapters draw on the expertise of more than 215 basic scientists and clinicians who discuss key information on how the autonomic nervous system controls the body, particularly in response to stress. This new edition also focuses on the translational crossover between basic and clinical research. In addition to comprehensively covering all aspects of autonomic physiology and pathology, topics such as psychopharmacology decoding and modulating nerve function are also explored.

The Ghrelin receptor was identified before its natural ligand ghrelin. This receptor is found both centrally and peripherally, and has been shown to affect various processes, such as food intake, gut motility, memory, glucose and lipid metabolism, cardiovascular performances, reproduction, memory, and immunological responses, amongst others. The functions of the ghrelin receptor in the central nervous system are numerous and are still being explored. In this book we specifically focus on the various roles of the ghrelin receptor in the central nervous system. In a first set of chapters, the book will focus on the discovery and the properties of this intriguing constitutively active G-protein coupled receptor, on its multiple intracellular transduction mechanisms and the various subtypes of the currently known ghrelin receptor complexes. Next, the book will elaborate on the mitochondrial mechanisms regulated by the ghrelin receptor, its role in feeding and drug addictive mechanisms, memory, sleep and arousal. The final chapters focus on the potential of this receptor as a target for the treatment of neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, anxiety and depression.

Many of the trace amines-more correctly called biogenic amines- have been known for decades, but because of their tiny concentra- tions (0. 01-100 ng/g) in brain, it was only after the development of sophisticated analytical techniques (such as mass spectrometry) that they could be identified and quantitated in nervous tissue. There are now more than 20 of them and most are related to the catecholamines and 5-hydroxytryptamine both structurally and metabolically. Their pharmacological and physiological properties make them prime candidates for a transmitter or neuromodulator role and many of them elicit profound behavioral syndromes after injection--one of them, phenylethylamine, has even been referred to as nature's amphetamine. In the clinical sphere several have been shown to be involved in: Parkinsonism, schizophrenia, depression, agoraphobia, aggression, hyperkinesis, migraine, hypertensive crises, hypertyrosinemia, he- patic encephalopathy, epilepsy, and cystic fibrosis. Thus the research reported here on these intriguing "new" substances will be of great interest to psychiatrists, neurologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, physiologists, psychologists, behaviorists and indeed to all those working in the neurosciences and related fields today. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book is based on the proceedings of Trace Amines and the Neurosciences, a meeting held at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, July 19-21, 1983. This meeting was organized as a Satellite Meeting of the Ninth Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry, held in Vancouver, July 10-15, 1983. International organizers of the satellite meeting were Drs. A. A. Boulton (Saskatoon), W. G. Dewhurst (Edmonton), G. B. Baker (Edmonton), and M. Sandler (London).

Human neurological and neuromuscular disorders caused by nucleotide expansion are the focus of growing interest of practicing physicians and of interested biomedical researchers. This volume represents a comprehensive and up-to-date description of many of the better-studied disorders. The authors discuss molecular, clinical and pathological aspects of the diseases as well as our current understanding of their underlying mechanisms.

This second edition provides updated and expanded chapters that critically address the issues or rodent stroke modeling, from choosing the model and outcome measures, designing the experiment, conducting and analyzing it, to reporting it in a scientific publication. Rodent Models of Stroke, Second Edition aims to help its readers understand the limitations and the opportunities of modeling stroke in rodents and enable them to conduct experiments which will not only improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of this devastating disorder but also serve as the basis for developing new highly effective treatments. Written for the popular Neuromethods series, chapters include the kind of detail and key implementation advice that ensures successful results in the laboratory. Authoritative and practical, Rodent Models of Stroke, Second Edition provides authoritative reviews of the most commonly used, well-honed approaches in the field today.

This book sheds light on processes associated with the construction of cognitive maps, that is to say, with the construction of internal representations of very large spatial entities such as towns, cities, neighborhoods, landscapes, metropolitan areas, environments and the like. Because of their size, such entities can never be seen in their entirety, and consequently one constructs their internal representation by means of visual, as well as non-visual, modes of sensation and information - text, auditory, haptic and olfactory means for example - or by inference. Intersensory coordination and information transfer thus play a crucial role in the construction of cognitive maps. Because it involves a multiplicity of sensational and informational modes, the issue of cognitive maps does not fall into any single traditional cognitive field, but rather into, and often in between, several of them. Thus, although one is dealing here with processes associated with almost every aspect of our daily life, the subject has received relatively marginal scientific attention. The book is directed to researchers and students of cognitive mapping and environmental cognition. In particular it focuses on the cognitive processes by which one form of information, say haptic, is being transformed into another, say a visual image, and by which multiple forms of information participate in constructing cognitive maps.

This handbook explores mindfulness philosophy and practice as it functions in today's socioeconomic, cultural, and political landscape. Chapters discuss the many ways in which classic concepts and practices of mindfulness clash, converge, and influence modern theories and methods, and vice versa. Experts across many disciplines address the secularization and commercialization of Buddhist concepts, the medicalizing of mindfulness in therapies, and progressive uses of mindfulness in education. The book addresses the rise of the, "mindfulness movement", and the core concerns behind the critiques of the growing popularity of mindfulness. It covers a range of dichotomies, such as traditional versus modern, religious versus secular, and commodification versus critical thought and probes beyond the East/West binary to larger questions of economics, philosophy, ethics, and, ultimately, meaning. Featured topics include: A compilation of Buddhist meditative practices. Selling mindfulness and the marketing of mindful products. A meta-critique of mindfulness critiques - from McMindfulness to critical mindfulness Mindfulness-based interventions in clinical psychology and neuroscience. Corporate mindfulness and usage in the workplace. Community-engaged mindfulness and its role in social justice. The Handbook of Mindfulness is a must-have resource for clinical psychologists, complementary and alternative medicine professionals/practitioners, neuroscientists, and educational and business/management leaders and policymakers as well as related mental health, medical, and educational professionals/practitioners.

Cerebral Cortex is a comprehensive and detailed work covering the dual nature of the organization of the architecture and connections of the cerebral cortex. After establishing the evolutionary approach of the cerebral cortex's origin, the authors have systematically analyzed, in detail, the common principle underlying the structure and connections of sensory and motor systems. This important book describes the frontal, limbic, and multimodal association areas, as well as the long fiber pathways in a similar manner. The anatomical investigations have been complimented with current clinical and experimental observations, as well as neuroimaging studies. This unique approach, exploring the underlying principle of the architecture and connections of the cerebral cortex, has previously never been undertaken. In the concluding chapter of the book, the authors have provided the usefulness of such an approach for future investigations. Cerebral Cortex provides extensive illustrations, along with historical references to each sensory, motor and association systems.

Neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mood disorders, Alzheimer s disease, epilepsy, alcoholism, substance abuse and others are one of the most debilitating illnesses worldwide characterizing by the complexity of the causes, and lacking the laboratory tests that may promote diagnostic and prognostic procedures. Recent advances in neuroscience, genomic, genetic, proteomic and metabolomic knowledge and technologies have opened the way to searching biomarkers and endophenotypes, which may offer powerful and exciting opportunity to understand the etiology and the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropsychiatric disorders. The challenge now is to translate these advances into meaningful diagnostic and therapeutic advances. This book offers a broad synthesis of the current knowledge about diverse topics of the biomarker and endophenotype strategies in neuropsychiatry. The book is organized into four interconnected volumes: Neuropsychological Endophenotypes and Biomarkers (with overview of methodological issues of the biomarker and endophenotype approaches in neuropsychiatry and some technological advances), Neuroanatomical and Neuroimaging Endophenotypes and Biomarkers, Metabolic and Peripheral Biomarkers and Molecular Genetic and Genomic Markers . The contributors are internationally and nationally recognized researchers and experts from 16 countries. This four-volume handbook is intended for a broad spectrum of readers including neuroscientists, psychiatrists, neurologists, endocrinologists, pharmacologists, clinical psychologists, general practitioners, geriatricians, health care providers in the field of neurology and mental health interested in trends that have crystallized in the last decade, and trends that can be expected to further evolve in the coming years. It is hoped that this book will also be a useful resource for the teaching of psychiatry, neurology, psychology and mental health. "

The Neuroscience of Depression: Genetics, Cell Biology, Neurology, Behaviour and Diet is a comprehensive reference to the aspects, features and effects of depression. This book provides readers with the behavior and psychopathological effects of depression, linking anxiety, anger and PSTD to depression. Readers are provided with a detailed outline of the genetic aspects of depression including synaptic genes and the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of depression, followed by a thorough analysis of the neurological and imaging techniques used to study depression. This book also includes three full sections on the various effects of depression, including diet, nutrition and molecular and cellular effects. The Neuroscience of Depression: Genetics, Cell Biology, Neurology, Behaviour and Diet is the only resource for researchers and practitioners studying depression.

Over the last decade, the considerable progress made in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics and neuropharmacology has revealed some ofthe intimate mechanisms ofthe neurodegenerative disorders. There is increasing evidence linking genetic defects affecting mitochondria to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease and some other neurological disorders. Advances in knowledge are fueled through improved animal models that use mitochondrial toxins, excitotoxins, and transgenic animals. Therapeutic studies in these models have strengthened the possibility for effective treatments in man. By defining the pathomechanisms, we hope to be in the position to prevent cell death by protecting neurons. Indeed serious preclinical and clinical research is going on in the field of neuroprotection in stroke, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, demyelinating disorders and dementia. Based on these scientific ideas, the Symposium in honour of Professor Abel Lajtha was organized by the European Society for ClinicalNeuropharmacology(ESCNP) and the Danube Symposium for Neurological Sciences in Budapest, Hungary, October 24-25, 2002. Professor Lajtha was born in Budapest in 1922 and his home town is an ideal venue for strengthening the bonds between Western and Eastern European Neuroscientists. Professor Peter Riederer (Wurzburg) held the 2002 special "Dezso Miskolczy Memorial Lecture" in Abel Lajtha's Honour. Thanks are due to the invited speakersofthis Symposium for their excellentcontribution. Laszlo Vecsei vii CONTENTS Advances in Neuroprotection Research for Neurodegenerative Diseases 1 Mario E. Gotz and Peter Riederer Neurotransmitter Release in Experimental Stroke Models: The Role of Glutamate-GABA Interaction 21 Laszlo G. Harsing, Jr.