This volume provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in targeting glutamate signaling for the treatment of major psychiatric and neurological disorders. It draws on the latest findings in glutamate neurobiology and offers valuable insights into the application of translational principles in neuroscience drug discovery and development. In each chapter, glutamate as a neurotransmitter, its receptors and transporters, and their interplay with other neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors, are discussed in the context of a specific, highly prevalent and disabling CNS disease. Most recent and detailed information is provided on Ischemic Stroke, Chronic Stress, Major Depressive Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Alzheimer's Dementia, Schizophrenia, Impulsive Aggression, Substance Use Disorders (SUD), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Chronic Pain, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Migraine, Epilepsy and Anxiety disorders. Moreover, the book includes an extensive overview of glutamatergic treatments already available on the market, and those which are currently in pharmaceutical drug development pipelines. The primary beneficiaries will be neurology and psychiatry specialists and residents, neuroscientists, neuropharmacologists, pharmaceutical industry and clinical research organization professionals, academics, and clinicians working with psychiatric and neurological patients with comorbidities such as cardiologists, pulmonologists, and endocrinologists. This book will also appeal to psychiatry and neurology subspecialists and clinicians working in neuroscience labs seeking an easy-to-understand yet comprehensive overview of contemporary evidence-based clinical insights backed by basic science (preclinical) research evidence. Given its scope, the book is also a unique and indispensable resource for both preclinical and clinical neuroscientists, medical advisors, and clinical research specialists in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, it will appeal to neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology students and guide them through the complexities of glutamate involvement in the pathophysiology of the most common debilitating brain diseases with high unmet medical needs.

Integrated Education and Learning aims to discuss novel approaches to offer integrated educational methods. Within the last few years, educational techniques have evolved to favour critical thinking and improve learning skills. This volume links thinking and learning in educational settings and discusses diverse mechanisms that influence this association; including meta-cognitive capacity, memory, cognitive style, conceptual approaches, digitalization, teaching approaches, echoing, and questioning. It embraces this discussion at all levels, from early childhood education to higher education. This book also includes teaching tips for creating a learning environment that cultivates students' creativity and critical thinking on both online platforms and live-in-classroom. The book follows discussing the merits of an integrated educational paradigm that will help develop highly intellectual thinkers and will promote modern values to face current and future challenges. Finally, the book shows a balance between learning and education to enhance creativity, critical thinking and social skills.

The 4th World Congress on Genetics, Geriatrics, and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research (GeNeDis 2020) focuses on the latest major challenges in scientific research, new drug targets, the development of novel biomarkers, new imaging techniques, novel protocols for early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, and several other scientific advances, with the aim of better, safer, and healthier aging. The relation between genetics and its effect on several diseases are thoroughly examined in this volume. This volume focuses on the sessions from the conference on Genetics and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

This volume explores the latest techniques used to study neurodevelopmental diseases (NDD) that range from molecular aspects to integrated research approaches and brain imaging in living rodents. Chapters in this book cover topics such as protocols to deliver shRNA in vitro and in vivo using lentiviral particles to knock-down specific protein expression; experimental procedures to use recombinant fluorescent probes to visualize endogenous proteins at the mammalian synapse; CRISPR/Cas9 toolkit to assess either gain- or loss-of-gene function in brain organoids; detailed protocols to use in vivo manipulations to correct the behavioral phenotypes in cognitive disorder mouse lines; and experimental approaches to genetically engineer macaque models of NDDs and investigate how genetic predisposition may cause neural and functional alterations. In the Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Cutting-edge and practical, Translational Research Methods in Neurodevelopmental Disorders is a valuable resource for all researchers who want to learn more about this important and developing field.

An all-in-one guide for helping caregivers of individuals with brain injury or degenerative disease to address speech, language, voice, memory, and swallowing impairment and to distinguish these problem areas from healthy aging. Advances in science mean that people are more likely to survive a stroke or live for many years after being diagnosed with a degenerative disease such as Parkinson's. But the communication deficits that often accompany a brain injury or chronic neurologic condition-including problems with speech, language, voice, memory, and/or swallowing-can severely impact quality of life. If you are a caregiver coping with these challenges, this all-in-one book can help you and your loved one. Written by a team of experts in speech-language pathology, each chapter focuses on a different aspect of caregiving and features relatable patient examples. Providing answers to common questions, definitions of complex medical terms, and lists of helpful resources, this book also: * touches on expected, age-related changes in communication, memory, swallowing, and hearing abilities, to name a few * offers practical strategies for caregivers to cope with speech, language, and voice problems and to maximize their loved one's ability to communicate * reveals how caregivers can assist their loved ones with swallowing challenges to maintain good nutrition and hydration * provides crucial information on how caregivers can handle grief and take care of themselves during the caregiving process * explains how to incorporate the arts, as well as a loved one's hobbies and interests, into their communication or memory recovery This comprehensive book will allow readers to take a more informed and active role in their loved one's care. Contributors: Marissa Barrera, Frederick DiCarlo, Lea Kaploun, Elizabeth Roberts, Teresa Signorelli Pisano

Perhaps the most distinct question in science throughout the ages has been the one of perceivable "reality," treated both in physics and philosophy.Reality is acting upon us, and we, and life in general, are acting upon reality. "Potentiality," found both in quantum reality and in the activity of life, plays a key role. In quantum reality observation turns potentiality into reality. Again, life computes possibilities in various ways based on past actions, and acts on the basis of these computations.

This book is about a new approach to biology (and physics, of course ). Its subtitle suggests a perpetual movement and interplay between two elusive aspects of modern science reality/matter and potentiality/mind, between physics and biology both captured and triggered by mathematics to understand and explain emergence, development and life all the way up to consciousness.

But what is the real/potential difference between living and non-living matter? How does time in potentiality differ from time in reality? What we need to understand these differences is an integrative approach. This book contemplates how to encircle life to obtain a formal system, equivalent to the ones in physics. "Integral Biomathics" attempts to explore the interplay between reality and potentiality.

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John Lythgoe was one of the pioneers of the 'Ecology of Vision', a subject that he ably delineated in his classic and inspirational book published some 20 years ago [1]. At heart, the original book aimed generally to identify inter-relationships between vision, animal behaviour and the environment. John Lythgoe excelled at identifying the interesting 'questions' in the ecology of an animal that fitted the 'answers' presented by an analysis of the visual system. Over the last twenty years, however, since Lythgoe's landmark publication, much progress has been made and the field has broadened considerably. In particular, our understanding of the 'adaptive mechanisms' underlying the ecology of vision has reached considerable depths, extending to the molecular dimension, partly as a result of development and application of new techniques. This complements the advances made in parallel in clinically oriented vision research [2]. The current book endeavours to review the progress made in the ecology of vision field by bringing together many of the major researchers presently active in the expanded subject area. The contents deal with theoretical and physical considerations of light and photoreception, present examples of visual system structure and function, and delve into aspects of visual behaviour and communi cation. Throughout the book, we have tried to emphasise one of the major themes to emerge within the ecology of vision: the high degree of adaptability that visual mechanisms are capable of undergoing in response to diverse, and dynamic, environments and behaviours.

Loudness is the primary psychological correlate of intensity. When the intensity of a sound increases, loudness increases. However, there exists no simple one-to-one correspondence between loudness and intensity; loudness can be changed by modifying the frequency or the duration of the sound, or by adding background sounds. Loudness also changes with the listener 's cognitive state. Loudness provides a basic reference for graduate students, consultants, clinicians, and researchers with a focus on recent discoveries. The book begins with an overview of the conceptual thinking related to the study of loudness, addresses issues related to its measurement, and later discusses the physiological effects of loud sounds, reaction times and electrophysiological measures that correlate with loudness. Loudness in the laboratory, loudness of steady-state sounds and the loudness of time-varying sounds are also covered, as are hearing loss and models.

Is this a time for a sleeping giant to rise? We have known since study of the lymphocyte and plasma cells really began in earnest in the early 1940's that the pituitary adrenal axis under intimate control of the hypothalamus could influence immunological functions profoundly. We have also known for at least 20 years in my recollection that female sex hor mones can maximize certain immunity functions while male sex hormones tend to suppress many immunological reactions. The thyroid hormones accelerate antibody production while at the same time sp eding up de gradation of antibodies and immunoglobulins and thyroidectomy decreases the rate of antibody production. Further, much evidence has accumulated indicating that the brain, yes even the mind, can influence in significant ways susceptibility to infections, cancers and to development of a variety of autoimmune diseases. More than 20 years ago, my colleagues and I convinced ourselves, if no one else, that hypnosis can exert major in fluences on the effector limb of the classical atopic allergic reactions. We showed with Aaron Papermaster that the Prausnitz-Kustner reaction may be greatly inhibited, indeed largely controlled, by post-hypnotic suggestion. And it was not even necessary for us to publish our discovery because scientists in John Humphrey's laboratory at Mill Hill Research Center in London had beaten us to the punch. They described hypnotic control of both the PK reaction and delayed allergic reactions to tuberculin by hypnosis."

This book discusses new candidates for rapid-acting antidepressants, such as (R)-ketamine, (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine, scopolamine, mGluR2/3 antagonists and AMPA receptor agonists. There are serious limitations to currently available antidepressants, such as delayed onset and low rates of efficacy. The discovery that a single dose of ketamine, an NMDAR antagonist, can produce rapid antidepressant effects that are sustained has led to new research in this area. In this volume, a variety of novel pharmaceutical treatments are examined. This volume would be useful to both researchers and clinicians who work in the field of pharmacology, specifically CNS drug treatments.

This book comprehensively reviews the proteins associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It also discusses the interactions of the associated-proteins, like bromodomain-containing proteins (BCPs), kinases, synaptic proteins, scaffolding proteins, transcriptional factors, and DNA-binding proteins at the subcellular and molecular levels. The book also explores the potential of these proteins as a druggable target and a biomarker in the neurodevelopmental disorders. The book further explores the recent advancements in understanding the important role of epigenetic factors in predisposition to these diseases. Lastly, it presents genetic factors that lead to variation in gene expression in these diseases, disorders management via diet intervention and the future potential of stem cell therapy.

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders: Biological Basis of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders, Second Edition provides basic scientists a comprehensive overview of neurological and neuropsychiatric disease. This book links basic, translational, and clinical research, covering the genetic, developmental, molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying all major categories of brain disorders. It offers students, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers in diverse fields of neuroscience, neurobiology, neurology, and psychiatry the tools they need to obtain a basic background in the major neurological and psychiatric diseases. Topics include developmental, autoimmune, central, and peripheral neurodegeneration, infectious diseases, and diseases of higher function. Organized by individual disorder, each chapter includes coverage of the clinical condition, diagnosis, treatment, underlying mechanisms, relevant basic and translational research, and key unanswered questions. This volume reflects progress in the field since publication of the first edition, with fully updated chapters, and new chapters on isolation, aging, global diseases, vascular diseases, and toxic/metabolic disease. New disorder coverage includes fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Restless Legs Syndrome, myasthenia gravis, and more.

This volume explores the latest techniques used to study brain function and pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD), and includes suggestions of new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of MDD. The chapters into this book are organized into five parts. Part One discusses advanced approaches to studying well-established pathophysiological mechanisms. Part Two details behavioral research methods for MDD. Part Three looks at the cellular and molecular research methods for major depression, and Part Four describes the latest developments in non-invasive neuroimaging. Part Five focuses on the pharmacological and non-pharmacological interactions, including antidepressant agents and their properties, such as sexual side effects and neuroimaging biomarkers. In the Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Cutting-edge and comprehensive, Translational Research Methods for Major Depressive Disorders is a valuable resource for researchers and scientists interested in learning more about this important and developing field.

Cognitive Science is an avowedly multidisciplinary field, drawing upon many traditional disciplines or research areas-including Linguistics, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Psychology, Anthropology, Artificial Intelligence, and Education-that contribute to our understanding of cognition. Just as learning and memory cannot truly prove effective as disconnected studies, practical applications of cognitive research, such as the improvement of education and human-computer interaction, require dealing with more complex cognitive phenomena by integrating the methods and insights from multiple traditional disciplines. The societal need for such applications has played an important role in the development of cognitive science. The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Science emphasizes the research and theory that is most central to modern cognitive science. Sections of the volume address computational theories of human cognitive architecture; cognitive functioning, such as problem solving and decision making as they have been studied with both experimental methods and formal modeling approaches; and cognitive linguistics and the advent of big data. Chapters provide concise introductions to the present achievements of cognitive science, supplemented by references to suggested reading, and additional facets of cognitive science are discussed in the handbook's introductory chapter, complementing other key publications to access for further study. With contributions from among the best representatives in their fields, this volume will appeal as the critical resource for the students in training who determine the future of cognitive science.

This book focuses on energy metabolism and brain functions related to Cortical Spreading Depression of Leao (CSD), an important issue in brain pathophysiology. The first part of the book offers a comprehensive overview of the history and early research on CSD, and then discusses the recent advances in the technology used to map and monitor brain mitochondrial NADH redox state and other physiological functions during CSD. The chapters explore the connection between CSD and mitochondrial function under hypoxia, Ischemia and various drugs treatment, and provide a resource to scientists researching the development of CSD during various brain pathophysiological conditions. This book is essential to scientists and students working in the field of bioenergetics of the brain and various organs and tissues in the body. The use of this technology is also crucial and applicable in the neuroscience field.

Almost all bodily functions are dependent on activity of the autonomic nervous system - from the cardiovascular system, the gastrointestinal tract, the evacuative and sexual organs, to the regulation of temperature, metabolism and tissue defence. Balanced functioning of each aspect of this system is an important basis of our life and well-being. In this long-awaited second edition, the author, a leading figure in this field, provides an up-to-date and detailed description of the cellular and integrative organization of the autonomic nervous system, covering both peripheral and central aspects. The book exposes modern neurobiological concepts that allow us to understand why this system normally runs so smoothly and why its deterioration has such disastrous consequences. This broad overview will appeal to researchers and advanced undergraduate students of the various biological and medical sciences studying how the autonomic nervous system works and to clinicians and physical therapists whose practice involves systems dependent on autonomic functions.

Sensitive periods occur when unique experiences permanently influence brain development either by their presence or absence. This volume covers underlying brain systems and behaviors that are sculpted by the environment in humans and animals in a search for commonalities. The mechanisms involved, the importance of timing in the process, and factors that can change the brain are discussed in this exciting book. Different chapters examine how experience guides the development of cells, circuits, and function using vision, cortical circuits, and cognition as frameworks. Scientific evidence for effective preventative intervention approaches, including diet, exercise, and music, are included to find ways to maximize child and adolescent development. The adverse effects of early brain injury are also included. As sensitive periods are gaining importance in their application in the real-world, novel statistical approaches for human studies are presented and the importance of sensitive periods are covered by examining the juvenile justice system. The book has interdisciplinary appeal and scholars with an interest in brain resiliency or vulnerability will find it of particular interest.

Febrile seizures are the most common seizures in infants and children worldwide, This fact provides strong impetus to study and understand them and their consequences, and consider their treatment. These topics were the focus of the first edition of this book. The 20 years since the publication of this first edition have witnessed an explosion of new information about febrile seizures, meriting this new edition. Key advances have been made in the genetics and neurobiological underpinnings of febrile seizures and especially the very long fever-related seizures called febrile status epilepticus. The role of neuroinflammatory factors in the emergence of these seizures and their consequences, the demonstration of unique clinical and neuroradiological aspects of febrile status epilepticus, and the prospect of predictive (bio)markers to identify and characterize cognitive and epilepsy outcomes are exciting and important. In this edition, the authors and editors tackle these developments in chapters addressing the questions of parents, physicians, allied health care professionals and basic and translational scientists.

Cell adhesion is one of the most important properties controlling embryonic development. Extremely precise cell-cell contacts are established according to the nature of adhesion molecules that are expressed on the cell surface. The identifica tion of several families of adhesion molecules, well conserved throughout evolu tion, has been the basis of a considerable amount of work over the past 20 years that contributed to establish functions of cell adhesion in almost all organs. Nowadays, cell adhesion molecules are not just considered as cellular glue but are thought to play critical roles in cell signaling. Their ability to influence cell proliferation, mi gration, or differentiation depends on both cell surface adhesion properties and acti vation of intracellular pathways. The next challenge will be to understand how these molecules interact with each other to ensure specific functions in the morphogen esis of very sophisticated systems. Indeed, by exploring the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nervous system development, the group of H. Fujisawa in Japan identified in 1987 an adhesion molecule, neuropilin, highly expressed in the neuro pile of amphibian optic tectum. Ten years later, two groups discovered that neuropilin is a receptor for guidance signals of the semaphorin family. Axon guidance is a critical step during brain development and the mechanisms ensuring growth cone navigation are beginning to be well understood. The semaphorins are bifunctional signals defining permissive or inhibitory pathways sensed by the growth cone.

This book describes the recent advancement of basic research on the biology of aging and longevity studies in various organisms, as well as the neurobiology of aging and neurodegeneration mechanisms. Chapters present new findings and conceptual developments concerning the basic mechanisms of aging and longevity determination. As a follow-up volume to the previous book Aging Mechanisms (2015), it overviews the rapid progress of aging research introducing new topics from leading laboratories in Japan. Chapter contributors are selected based on recent scientific achievements on the mechanisms of aging in various model organisms, including yeast, worm (C. elegans), fly (Drosophila), mice, and rats. Chapters are ordered from the discussion on molecular and cellular levels to physiological and systemic levels. The book also provides an overview of aging science in the region and helps readers quickly grasp who is doing what in this research area. As the aging of population becomes an ever more pressing issue in Asia, advancing the understanding of basic mechanisms of organism aging and longevity determination will be crucial to developing more effective therapies and protective strategies. Researchers and graduate students in biomedical aging research will find this as a rich source of information and a stimulus to novel research directions.

Regeneration, the homeostatic ability to maintain tissue structure in the face of normal cell turnover or loss of tissue damaged by trauma or disease, is an essentialdevelopmental process that continues throughout life. As recently as a decade ago, any serious discussion of the possibility of regeneration becoming a practical medical tool in the near future had the air of science fiction or over-optimistic speculation. The term regenerative medicine was certainly on many lips but few actually expected to soon see it applied in a clinical setting. A tidal wave of discovery has changed that and investigating the cellular mechanisms of natural regeneration has become one of the hottest topics in developmental biology and biomedicine in general. Many researchers entering the field find that the regeneration literature is still quite diffuse perhaps owing to the disparate biological systems that have been the object of study including hydra, planaria, newts, axolotls and more recently several mouse strains. The volume editors believe that an attempt to organize or systematize the literature is long overdue. In this volume, respected experts highlight the latest findings in vertebrate (including mammals) wound healing and regeneration. They present eleven reviews that cover a wide range of topics, from wound repair and its relationship to regeneration, through systems including lenticular, neural, and musculoskeletal tissues and limbs, to epigenetics and the role of the cell cycle. Nuclear reprogramming and cellular plasticity, which open the door for potential regenerative medical therapies for injury and degenerativedisease, are recurring themes throughout the book. We are all now part of the regeneration revolution."

The field of Binaural Hearing involves studies of auditory perception, physiology, and modeling, including normal and abnormal aspects of the system. Binaural processes involved in both sound localization and speech unmasking have gained a broader interest and have received growing attention in the published literature. The field has undergone some significant changes. There is now a much richer understanding of the many aspects that comprising binaural processing, its role in development, and in success and limitations of hearing-aid and cochlear-implant users. The goal of this volume is to provide an up-to-date reference on the developments and novel ideas in the field of binaural hearing. The primary readership for the volume is expected to be academic specialists in the diverse fields that connect with psychoacoustics, neuroscience, engineering, psychology, audiology, and cochlear implants. This volume will serve as an important resource by way of introduction to the field, in particular for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, the faculty who train them and clinicians.

This book is a discussion of the most timely and contentious issues in the two branches of neuroethics: the neuroscience of ethics; and the ethics of neuroscience. Drawing upon recent work in psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery, it develops a phenomenologically inspired theory of neuroscience to explain the brain-mind relation. The idea that the mind is shaped not just by the brain but also by the body and how the human subject interacts with the environment has significant implications for free will, moral responsibility, and moral justification of actions. It also provides a better understanding of how different interventions in the brain can benefit or harm us. In addition, the book discusses brain imaging techniques to diagnose altered states of consciousness, deep-brain stimulation to treat neuropsychiatric disorders, and restorative neurosurgery for neurodegenerative diseases. It examines the medical and ethical trade-offs of these interventions in the brain when they produce both positive and negative physical and psychological effects, and how these trade-offs shape decisions by physicians and patients about whether to provide and undergo them.

The development of new CNS drugs is notoriously difficult. Drugs must reach CNS target sites for action and these sites are protected by a number of barriers, the most important being the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Many factors are therefore critical to consider for CNS drug delivery, e.g. active/passive transport across the BBB, intra-brain distribution, and central/systemic pharmacokinetics, to name a few. Neurological disease and trauma conditions add further complexity because CNS barriers, drug distribution and pharmacokinetics are dynamic and often changed by disease/trauma. Knowledge of all these factors and their interplay in different conditions is of utmost importance for proper CNS drug development and disease treatment. In recent years much information has become available for a better understanding of the many factors important for CNS drug delivery and how they interact to affect drug action. This book describes small and large drug delivery to the brain with an emphasis on the physiology of the BBB and the principles and concepts for drug delivery across the BBB and distribution within the brain. It contains methods descriptions for studying drug delivery, routes and approaches of administering drugs into the brain, the influence of disease, drug industry perspectives, and a primer on neuroanatomy and physiological considerations written specifically for drug delivery scientists. Therewith, it contributes to an in-depth understanding of the interplay between brain (patho)-physiology and drug characteristics. Furthermore, the content is designed to be both cutting-edge and educational, so that the book can be used in high-level training of academic and industry scientists with full references to original publications.