Laser Scanning Microscopy and Quantitative Image Analysis of Neuronal Tissue brings together contributions from research institutions around the world covering pioneering applications in laser scanning microscopy and quantitative image analysis and providing information about the power and limitations of this quickly developing field. This detailed volume seeks to introduce key questions, to provide detailed information on how to acquire data by laser-scanning microscopy, and to examine how to use the often huge digital data set in an efficient manner to extract maximum information. Thus the book not only provides a compilation of diverse protocols but aims to bring together biological bench work, laser scanning microscopy, and mathematical, computer-assisted data analysis to grasp novel insights of form, dynamics, and interactions of microscopy-sized biological objects. Written in the popular Neuromethods series format, chapters include the kind of practical implementation advice that promises successful results. Wide-ranging and innovative, Laser Scanning Microscopy and Quantitative Image Analysis of Neuronal Tissue will stimulate the reader to make efficient use of the application of laser scanning microscopy for his or her own research question.

Medicinal chemistry is both science and art. The science of medicinal chemistry offers mankind one of its best hopes for improving the quality of life. The art of medicinal chemistry continues to challenge its practitioners with the need for both intuition and experience to discover new drugs. Hence sharing the experience of drug research is uniquely beneficial to the field of medicinal chemistry. Drug research requires interdisciplinary team-work at the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, the topic-related series Topics in Medicinal Chemistry covers all relevant aspects of drug research, e.g. pathobiochemistry of diseases, identification and validation of (emerging) drug targets, structural biology, drugability of targets, drug design approaches, chemogenomics, synthetic chemistry including combinatorial methods, bioorganic chemistry, natural compounds, high-throughput screening, pharmacological in vitro and in vivo investigations, drug-receptor interactions on the molecular level, structure-activity relationships, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicology and pharmacogenomics. In general, special volumes are edited by well known guest editors

This book focuses on interdisciplinary research in the field of biomedical engineering and neuroscience. Biomedical engineering is a vast field, ranging from bioengineering to brain-computer interfaces. The book explores the system-level function and dysfunction of the nervous system from scientific and engineering perspectives. The initial sections introduce readers to the physiology of the brain, and to the biomedical tools needed for diagnostics and effective therapies for various neurodegenerative and regenerative disorders. In turn, the book summarizes the biomedical interventions that are used to understand the neural mechanisms underlying empathy disorders, and reviews recent advances in biomedical engineering for rehabilitation in connection with neurodevelopmental disorders and brain injuries. Lastly, the book discusses innovations in machine learning and artificial intelligence for computer-aided disease diagnosis and treatment, as well as applications of nanotechnology in therapeutic neurology.

This book presents a long-term study in genetic isolates of indigenous small ethnics of Dagestan, located in the North-East part of Caucasus in Russia. Dagestan is characterized by extreme cultural and linguistic differences in a small geographic area and contains 26 indigenous ethnic groups. According to archeological data these indigenous highland ethnics have been living in the same area for more than ten thousand years. Our long-term population-genetic study of Dagestan indigenous ethnic groups indicates their close relation to each other and suggests that they evolved from one common ancestral meta-population. Dagestan has an extremely high genetic diversity between ethnic populations and a low genetic diversity within them. Such genetic isolates are exceptional resources for the detection of susceptibility genes for complex diseases because of the reduction in genetic and clinical heterogeneity. The founder effect and gene drift in these primary isolates may have caused aggregation of specific haplotypes with limited numbers of pathogenic alleles and loci in some isolates relative to others. The book presents a study in four ethnically and demographically diverse genetic isolates with aggregation of schizophrenia that we ascertained within our Dagestan Genetic Heritage Research Project. The results obtained support the notion that mapping genes of any complex disease (e.g., schizophrenia) in demographically older genetic isolates may be more time and cost effective due to their high clinical and genetic homogeneity, in comparison with demographically younger isolates, especially with genetically heterogeneous outbred populations.

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.

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.

This book provides a comprehensive summary of the cutting edge scientific evidence regarding the role of immune system in the pathogenesis and treatment of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. It illustrates the role of inflammation and immunity in schizophrenia drawing on both basic science and clinical research. The chapters provide up-to-date summaries of immunological risk factors for schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders, and underlying mechanisms as informed by neuroimaging, genetic, clinical and animal experimental studies. In addition, the book will illuminate the scope for immunological treatment for schizophrenia.

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.

Neuromechanics is a new, quickly growing field of neuroscience research that merges neurophysiology, biomechanics and motor control and aims at understanding living systems and their elements through interactions between their neural and mechanical dynamic properties. Although research in Neuromechanics is not limited by computational approaches, neuromechanical modeling is a powerful tool that allows for integration of massive knowledge gained in the past several decades in organization of motion related brain and spinal cord activity, various body sensors and reflex pathways, muscle mechanical and physiological properties and detailed quantitative morphology of musculoskeletal systems. Recent work in neuromechanical modeling has demonstrated advantages of such an integrative approach and led to discoveries of new emergent properties of neuromechanical systems. Neuromechanical Modeling of Posture and Locomotion will cover a wide range of topics from theoretical studies linking the organization of reflex pathways and central pattern generating circuits with morphology and mechanics of the musculoskeletal system (Burkholder; Nichols; Shevtsova et al.) to detailed neuromechanical models of postural and locomotor control (Bunderson; Edwards, Marking et al., Ting). Furthermore, uniquely diverse modeling approaches will be presented in the book including a theoretical dynamic analysis of locomotor phase transitions (Spardy and Rubin), a hybrid computational modeling that allows for in vivo interactions between parts of a living organism and a computer model (Edwards et al.), a physical neuromechanical model of the human locomotor system (Lewis), and others.

Modelling: The Oculomotor Systems, Volume 269 in the Progress in Brain Research serial highlights new advances in the field with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on topics including The function and phylogeny of eye movements, The behavior of motoneurons, Statics of plant mechanics, Dynamics of plant mechanics, The functional operation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, Basic framework of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, Oculomotor signals, Signal processing in the vestibulo-ocular reflex, Plasticity and repair of the vestibulo-ocular reflex, The behavior of the optokinetic system, Models of the optokinetic system, Neurophysiology of the optokinetic system, and much more.

This newest volume of Advances in Neurobiology discusses the utilization of genomic and proteomic technologies, to address facets of neurobiology including development and epigenetic regulation, functions in learning and memory, and changes associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Our brain is the source of everything that makes us human: language, creativity, rationality, emotion, communication, culture, politics. The neuroscienceshave given us, in recent decades, fundamental new insights into how the brain works and what that means for how we see ourselves as individuals and ascommunities. Now - with the help of new advances in nanotechnology - brain science proposes to go further: to study its molecular foundations, to repair brainfunctions, to create mind-machine interfaces, and to enhance human mental capacities in radical ways. This book explores the convergence of these tworevolutionary scientific fields and the implications of this convergence for the future of human societies. In the process, the book offers a significant new approachto technology assessment, one which operates in real-time, alongside the innovation process, to inform the ways in which new fields of science and technologyemerge in, get shaped by, and help shape human societies."

Axon Growth and Regeneration: Methods and Protocols brings together a diverse set of techniques for the study of the mechanisms underlying central nervous system axon growth, consequently providing a resource that will aid in the development of repair strategies. After an introductory section, this detailed volume continues with sections focusing on axon growth in vitro, providing a range of protocols that can be used to examine intracellular signalling pathways, axonal responses to extracellular factors and methods for quantifying outgrowth. The next section provides protocols for inducing experimental injury in vivo as well as some highly promising protocols for promoting regeneration, which segues into the final section highlighting a series of protocols that can be used to monitor the extent of axon regeneration in vivo, ranging from tract tracing to in vivo imaging and functional recovery. As a book in the Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters contain introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and reliable, Axon Growth and Regeneration: Methods and Protocols aims to serve researchers studying axon regeneration with a significant set of diverse tools, vital for moving on to the next generation of exciting new discoveries in the field.

This book explores cybersecurity research and development efforts, including ideas that deal with the growing challenge of how computing engineering can merge with neuroscience. The contributing authors, who are renowned leaders in this field, thoroughly examine new technologies that will automate security procedures and perform autonomous functions with decision making capabilities. To maximize reader insight into the range of professions dealing with increased cybersecurity issues, this book presents work performed by government, industry, and academic research institutions working at the frontier of cybersecurity and network sciences. Cybersecurity Systems for Human Cognition Augmentation is designed as a reference for practitioners or government employees working in cybersecurity. Advanced-level students or researchers focused on computer engineering or neuroscience will also find this book a useful resource.

social neuroscience, social psychology, developmental, psychology, social cognition, vision research and clinical psychology. social neuroscience, social psychology, developmental, psychology, sThis comprehensive volume reviews current developments in our evolving knowledge of social attention and its processes. In doing so, it examines the brain-behavioral bases of social attention from diverse complementary fields, including disordered and healthy adult findings, infant and developmental studies and social neuroscience. The studies explored in this volume reflect the ongoing shift toward naturalistic, context-based experiments and integrative scientific approaches, and away from relying solely on standardized tasks in laboratory settings. In keeping with this proactive perspective, the authors pose critical questions throughout the book to point readers toward the potential next wave of research developments and interventions.Included in the coverage: The development of social attention in human infants. Neural bases for social attention in healthy humans. Social attention, social presence, and the dual function of gaze. Early departures from normative processes of social engagement in infants with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Aberrant social attention and its underlying neural correlates in adults with ASD. The future of social attention research. The Many Faces of Social Attention will interest researchers in social neuroscience, social psychology, developmental psychology, social cognition, visual attention and cognition, and clinical psychology, and inspire new advances in this increasingly important area of study. ocial cognition, vision research and clinical psychology.

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.

Within our knowledge, the series of the International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN) is the only conference series dedicating to cognitive neurodynamics. This volume is the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics held in 2009, which reviews the progress in this field since the 1st ICCN -2007. The topics include: Neural coding and realistic neural network dynamics, Neural population dynamics, Firing Oscillations and Patterns in Neuronal Networks, Brain imaging, EEG, MEG, Sensory and Motor Dynamics, Global cognitive function, Multi-scalar Neurodynamics - from Physiology to Systems Theory, Neural computing, Emerging Technologies for Brain Computer Interfaces, Neural dynamics of brain disorders.

The 3rd World Congress on Genetics, Geriatrics, and Neurodegenerative Disease Research (GeNeDis 2018), focuses on recent advances in genetics, geriatrics, and neurodegeneration, ranging from basic science to clinical and pharmaceutical developments. It also provides an international forum for the latest scientific discoveries, medical practices, and care initiatives. Advanced information technologies are discussed, including the basic research, implementation of medico-social policies, and the European and global issues in the funding of long-term care for elderly people.

The evolution of vertebrate hearing is of considerable interest in the hearing community. However, there has never been a volume that has focused on the paleontological evidence for the evolution of hearing and the ear, especially from the perspective of some of the leading paleontologists and evolutionary biologists in the world. Thus, this volume is totally unique, and takes a perspective that has never been taken before. It brings to the fore some of the most recent discoveries among fossil taxa, which have demonstrated the sort of detailed information that can be derived from the fossil record, illuminating the evolutionary pathways this sensory system has taken and the diversity it had achieved.

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

Brain Inspired Cognitive Systems 2008 (June 24-27, 2008; S o Lu s, Brazil) brought together leading scientists and engineers who use analytic, syntactic and computational methods both to understand the prodigious processing properties of biological systems and, specifically, of the brain, and to exploit such knowledge to advance computational methods towards ever higher levels of cognitive competence.

This book includes the papers presented at four major symposia:

Part I - Cognitive Neuroscience

Part II - Biologically Inspired Systems

Part III - Neural Computation

Part IV - Models of Consciousness.

This book brings together a number of essays that are optimistic about the ways certain neuroscientific insights might advance philosophical ethics, and other essays that are more circumspect about the relevance of neuroscience to philosophical ethics. As a whole, the essays form a self-reflective body of work that simultaneously seeks to derive normative ethical implications from neuroscience, and to question whether and how that may be possible at all. In doing so, the collection brings together psychology, neuroscience, philosophy of mind, ethics, and philosophy of science. Neuroscience seeks to understand the biological systems that guide human behavior and cognition. Normative ethics, on the other hand, seeks to understand the system of abstract moral principles dictating how people ought to behave. By studying how the human brain makes moral judgments, can philosophers learn anything about the nature of morality itself? A growing number of researchers believe that neuroscience can, indeed, provide insights into the questions of philosophical ethics. However, even these advocates acknowledge that the path from neuroscientific is to normative ethical ought can be quite fraught.

The hearing organs of non-mammals, which show quite large and systematic differences to each other and to those of mammals, provide an invaluable basis for comparisons of structure and function. By taking advantage of the vast diversity of possible study organisms provided by the "library" that is biological diversity, it is possible to learn how complex functions are realized in the inner ear through the evolution of specific structural, cellular and molecular configurations. Insights from Comparative Hearing Research brings together some of the most exciting comparative research on hearing and shows how this work has profoundly impacted our understanding of hearing in all vertebrates.