Sodium channels confer excitability on neurons in nociceptive pathways and exhibit neuronal tissue specific and injury regulated expression. This volume provides recent insights into the control of expression, functioning and membrane trafficking of nervous system sodium channels and reviews why sodium channel sub-types are potentially important drug targets in the treatment of pain. The roles of sodium channels in dental and visceral pain are also addressed. The emerging role of sodium channel Nav1.3 in neuropathic states is another important theme.

Authors from the pharmaceutical industry discuss pharmacological approaches to the drug targeting of sodium channels, and in particular Nav1.8, exclusively expressed in nociceptive neurons. The final chapter highlights the functional diversity of sodium channels in part provided by post-transcriptional processing and the insights into sodium channel function that are being provided by tissue specific and inducible gene knock-out technology.

This volume, Prefrontal Cortex: from Synaptic Plasticity to Cognition, is an interdisciplinary approach to characterize the function of the anterior portion of the frontal lobe in rodents and human and non-human primates. The specific topics discussed in the chapters of this volume are purposefully diverse: they range from membrane properties of prefrontal neurons to cognitive psychology. Nevertheless, this volume must not be regarded as a mere collection of writings with the different sub-themes. As you will see, chapters often vigorously encompass domains of the prefrontal field in effort to provide a big picture. That is actually what we attempted to do in this volume. On one hand, we have accumulated knowledge on the properties of neurons and synapses in the prefrontal cortex as well as the actions of critical neuromodulators such as dopamine. On the other hand, behavioral and cognitive neurosciences have begun to reveal the fascinating role of the prefrontal cortex in such mental processes as working memory, attention switching and rule following, and long-term memory. Needless to say, our ultimate goal as neurobiologists is to know what relationship there is between these cellular and cognitive processes. This volume is meant to serve as a comprehensive introduction towards that goal. Readers will be informed, for example, of how plasticity of prefrontal neurons is regulated, how it is involved in certain cognitive processes in rodents, and how the rodent models can apply to the primates.

In this accessible overview of current knowledge, an expert team of editors and authors describe experimental approaches to consciousness. These approaches are shedding light on some of the hitherto unknown aspects of the distinct states of human consciousness, including the waking state, different states of sleep and dreaming, meditation and more. The book presents the latest research studies by the contributing authors, whose specialities span neuroscience, neurology, biomedical engineering, clinical psychology and psychophysiology, psychosocial medicine and anthropology. Overall this anthology provides the reader with a clear picture of how different states of consciousness can be defined, experimentally measured and analysed. A future byproduct of this knowledge may be anticipated in the development of systematic corrective treatments for many disorders and pathological problems of consciousness.

Introduction; M. Ginsberg, et al. Metabolic Correlates of Focal Ischemia; W.D. Lust, et al. Role of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase in Ischemic Injury; F.A. Welsh. Disturbances of Protein and Polyamine Metabolism After Reversible Cerebral Ischemia; K.A. Hossman, W. Paschen. Oxygen Dependence of Neuronal Metabolism; D.A. Wilson. Lipid Dysmetabolism in Brain Ischemia; K. Kogure. Involvement of Calcium, Lipolytic Enzymes, and Free Fatty Acids in Ischemic Brain Trauma; A.A. Farooqui, et al. Arachidonic Acid Lipoxygenase Products Participate in the Pathogenesis of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia; T. Watanabe, et al. Biochemical Changes and Secondary Tissue Injury After Brain and Spinal Cord Ischemia; A.I. Faden, et al. Free Fatty Acid Liberation in the Pathogenesis and Therapy of Ischemic Brain Damage; E.M. Nemoto, et al. Cerebral Ischemia and Polyphosphoinositide Metabolism; G.Y. Sun. 6 additional articles. Index.

In this time of edited volumes when the list of individual contributors may reach double figures, it is appropriate to question the usefulness of a volume, with such a broad scope, by a single author. The answer is simple. For years he has believed that the rather sharp distinction between fundamental and applied aspects of this discipline, has ill-served the significance of each; and has diminished the incidence of fruitful synergies. Yet the need for these was never greater, and this case may be developed by a single author with experience of each aspect. The inclusion of a Chapter on Genetic Engineering may raise some doubts, but it is enabled by the chosen title "Chemoreception," as distinct from Chemoperception: the latter implies detection of a chemical, followed by a behavioural response. But the former broader category subsumes Chemoperception and allows for the reception of a chemical toxin so potent as to prelude a behavioural or physiological response, other than death. Accordingly, chemical toxins are a legitimate inclusion. In which event, their delivery through a GM plant is as appropriate for study as their application in a spray.

The Springer Handbook of Auditory Research presents a series of com prehensive and synthetic reviews of the fundamental topics in modern auditory research. It is aimed at all individuals with interests in hearing research including advanced graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and clinical investigators. The volumes will introduce new investigators to important aspects of hearing science and will help established inves tigators to better understand the fundamental theories and data in fields of hearing that they may not normally follow closely. Each volume is intended to present a particular topic comprehensively, and each chapter will serve as a synthetic overview and guide to the literature. As such, the chapters present neither exhaustive data reviews nor original research that has not yet appeared in peer-reviewed journals. The series focusses on topics that have developed a solid data and con ceptual foundation rather than on those for which a literature is only beginning to develop. New research areas will be covered on a timely basis in the series as they begin to mature."

Notable experts in the field of neuroimaging provide comprehensive overviews of advances in functional and structural aspects of both common and uncommon brain disorders. Functional imaging is evolving quickly but researchers and clinicians do not always have a strong understanding of the fundamental basis of the imaging techniques that they use. By focusing on both structure and function this book will provide a strong foundation for emerging developments in the field.

This book focuses on recent advances and future trends in the methods and applications of technologies that are used in neuroscience for the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases and conditions or for the improvement of quality of life. The editors have assembled contributions from a range of international experts, to bring together key topics in neurotechnology, neuroengineering, and neurorehabilitation. The book explores biomedical signal processing, neuroimaging acquisition and analysis, computational intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, biometrics, machine learning and neurorobotics, human machine interaction, mobile apps and discusses ways in which these neural technologies can be used as diagnostic tools, research methods, treatment modalities, as well as in devices and apps in everyday life. This cross-disciplinary topic is of particular interest to researchers and professionals with a background in neuroscience-related disciplines and neurotechnology, but also touches on a wide range of other fields including biomedical engineering, AI, medicine, healthcare, security and industry, among others.

This volume focuses on the behavioral neuroscience that supports our understanding of the neurobiology of trauma risk and response. The collection of articles focuses on both preclinical and clinical reviews of (1) state-of-the-art knowledge of mechanisms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-occurring disorders, (2) the biological and psychological constructs that support risk and resiliency for trauma disorders, and (3), novel treatment strategies and therapeutics on the horizon.

Scholarpedia's Encyclopedia of Touch provides a comprehensive collection of peer-reviewed articles written by leading researchers, detailing our current scientific understanding of tactile sensing and its neural substrates in animals including humans. The encyclopedia allows ideas and insights to be shared between researchers working on different aspects of touch and in different species, including research in synthetic touch systems. In addition, this encyclopedia raises awareness of research in tactile sensing and increases scientific and public interest in the field. The articles address subjects including tactile control, whiskered robots, vibrissal coding, the molecular basis of touch, invertebrate mechanoreception, fingertip transducers and tactile sensing. All the articles in this encyclopedia provide in-depth and state-of-the-art scholarly treatment of the academic topics concerned, making it an excellent reference work for academics, professionals and students.

The past decade has seen tremendous growth in the study of cannabinoid receptor signaling in brain. The impact and consequences of cannabinoid modulation of monoaminergic (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin) circuits is becoming more clear. Scientists have shown significant interaction between these two systems in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders such as affective disorders, multiple sclerosis, and pain or pain disorders. The overarching goal of Endocannabinoid Regulation of Monoamines in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders is to provide current information on advances in the field of endocannabinoid signaling and potential therapeutic applications with a particular emphasis on monoaminergic circuits.

In Neuronal Cell Culture: Methods and Protocols, the latest aspects of the culture of neural cells are explored by experts in the field who also explain the practical and theoretical considerations of the techniques involved. Starting with a general overview of the neuronal culturing principles that are described, this detailed volume covers cell line models for neural cells, the isolation and propagation of primary cultures, stem cells, transfection and transduction of neural cultures, and other more advanced techniques. Written for the Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include 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 easy to use, Neuronal Cell Culture: Methods and Protocols will be of interest to scientists at all levels developing cell culture models for neuroscientific studies.

This book considers deafness as a medical condition, exploring the neuronal consequences on the peripheral and the central nervous system as well as on cognition and learning, viewed from the standpoint of genetics, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, molecular biology, systems neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience.

The International Symposium on Prostaglandins and Related Compounds, first held in Vienna 1972, revisited the city after 24 years for the 10TH Symposium. For the many re searchers working in this multi-disciplinary field it was an opportunity to exchange their ex periences and share new data with colleagues from all around the world. This scientific exchange was largely encouraged by the unseasonably cold and rainy weather. For the first time, there was quite a large attendance from the former Communist countries. Eugene Garfield prepared a key note address delivered during the meeting (The Sci entist 1996, 12) reviewing the contribution of the Nobel Laureates U.S. von Euler, l.R. Vane, S.K. Bergstrom, and B.I. Samuelsson, discussing the relevance of the more than 40,000 pa pers in this area published since 1991. Overall, there is still a rapidly growing interest, and in particular a great variety of clinical applications of this family of compounds which were dis cussed in detail during the meeting. Beside the lectures there were 19 workshops covering nearly all the topics of key in terest. All the speakers were invited to prepare a manuscript which has resulted in the volume now in your hands. Special thanks to Dr. Patrick Wong and the new publisher of this series who helped to publish the proceedings in the usual quality and reasonable period of time. Looking forward to seeing all of you again in Florence in 1999, hopefully with much more sun."

This detailed book provides a laboratory manual and guidebook for the selection, implementation, and interpretation of a wide range of techniques in contemporary use in leading laboratories engaged in Huntington's disease (HD) research worldwide. Only by understanding the pathology and pathogenic process at the fundamental molecular and cellular level can the research community expect to be able to slow or halt the disease process, repair the damage, and develop novel effective therapies to treat the symptoms of this condition, thus this volume collects the practical knowledge of its authors. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include 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. Authoritative and invaluable, Huntington's Disease aims to help scientists to significantly extend the breadth and quality of research in laboratories dedicated to mastering and controlling this devastating human condition.

Quantum Neural Computation is a graduate level monographic textbook. It presents a comprehensive introduction, both non-technical and technical, into modern quantum neural computation, the science behind the fiction movie Stealth. Classical computing systems perform classical computations (i.e., Boolean operations, such as AND, OR, NOT gates) using devices that can be described classically (e.g., MOSFETs). On the other hand, quantum computing systems perform classical computations using quantum devices (quantum dots), that is devices that can be described only using quantum mechanics. Any information transfer between such computing systems involves a state measurement. This book describes this information transfer at the edge of classical and quantum chaos and turbulence, where mysterious quantum-mechanical linearity meets even more mysterious brain s nonlinear complexity, in order to perform a super high speed and error free computations. This monograph describes a crossroad between quantum field theory, brain science and computational intelligence."

This volume reviews the new potential treatments and research in the area of Alzheimer's disease. Special attention is given to international developments in all fields relevant to new drug development. Topics discussed include: progress in the international harmonization of drug development guidelines for dementia drugs; bioethics and law; development of rating instruments; behavioural treatments; and the activities of the Reagan Foundation. The text integrates basic and clinical research findings, and provides evaluation of new approaches to therapy by world leaders in the field. The potential benefit for Alzheimer patients and families resulting from these research programmes, from molecular biology to clinical pharmacology, is reviewed and evaluated.

It is well known and researched, that deprivation of oxygen to the brain can quickly result in irreversible damage and death. What is less well known, is that some vertebrate species are exceptionally tolerant of brain hypoxia. The Brain Without Oxygen: Causes of failure - Physiological and molecular mechanisms for survival, Third edition, discusses the mechanisms of brain hypoxia tolerance in these exceptional vertebrates, which include diving marine mammals, high altitude dwellers and the hibernating mammal. Special attention is given to the extraordinary adaptations that allow a few turtle and fish species to tolerate months of brain anoxia.

This third, fully updated edition addresses the potential of these animal models as targets for human clinical intervention. Perhaps the most interesting of these, are those involved in the suppression of metabolic activities to new set points well below their normoxic minima or maintenance levels. This volume will be valuable reading for researchers in physiology, medicine and general biological sciences, and of great importance to pharmaceutical companies researching novel models for stroke and brain ischemia.

This monograph reports on advances in the measurement and study of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dynamics as a source of reliable and effective markers for mood state recognition and assessment of emotional responses. Its primary impact will be in affective computing and the application of emotion-recognition systems. Applicative studies of biosignals such as: electrocardiograms; electrodermal responses; respiration activity; gaze points; and pupil-size variation are covered in detail, and experimental results explain how to characterize the elicited affective levels and mood states pragmatically and accurately using the information thus extracted from the ANS. Nonlinear signal processing techniques play a crucial role in understanding the ANS physiology underlying superficially noticeable changes and provide important quantifiers of cardiovascular control dynamics. These have prognostic value in both healthy subjects and patients with mood disorders. Moreover, Autonomic Nervous System Dynamics for Mood and Emotional-State Recognition proposes a novel probabilistic approach based on the point-process theory in order to model and characterize the instantaneous ANS nonlinear dynamics providing a foundation from which machine "understanding" of emotional response can be enhanced. Using mathematics and signal processing, this work also contributes to pragmatic issues such as emotional and mood-state modeling, elicitation, and non-invasive ANS monitoring. Throughout the text a critical review on the current state-of-the-art is reported, leading to the description of dedicated experimental protocols, novel and reliable mood models, and novel wearable systems able to perform ANS monitoring in a naturalistic environment. Biomedical engineers will find this book of interest, especially those concerned with nonlinear analysis, as will researchers and industrial technicians developing wearable systems and sensors for ANS monitoring.

Neuroscience Databases: A Practical Guide is the first book providing a comprehensive overview of these increasingly important databases. This volume makes the results of the Human Genome Project and other recent large-scale initiatives in the neurosciences available to a wider community. It extends the scope of bioinformatics from the molecular to the cellular, microcircuitry and systems levels, dealing for the first time with complex neuroscientific issues and leading the way to a new culture of data sharing and data mining necessary to successfully tackle neuroscience questions.
Aimed at the novice user who wants to access the data, it provides clear and concise instructions on how to download the available data sets and how to use the software with a minimum of technical detail with most chapters written by the database creators themselves.
Key databases and topics include:

-Neuroinformatics for C. Elegans;
-Gene Expression Patterns;
-Functional Analyses of Olfactory Receptors
-Protein-Protein Interactions;
-Web-Based Neuronal Archives;
-Neuronal and Network Modeling;
-Storage and Retrieval of Experimental Data for Biophysically Realistic Modeling;
-Analysis of Spike Trains;
-Neural Connectivity Patterns;
-Software Tools for Neuroimaging;
-Data Management, Inspection and Sharing.

In Clinical Pharmacology of Cerebral Ischemia, a distinguished international panel of authors define our current understanding of neuronal damage after ischemia and critically review the significant recent progress in cerebrovascular accident (CVA) drug trials, both for animal models and in the clinical setting. These leading basic science and medical authorities survey such important new drugs as calcium-influx inhibitors, free-radical scavenging drugs, glutamate and glycinergic antagonists, and immune suppressors. They also evaluate all the latest findings concerning calcium homeostasis, glutamate toxicity, gene activation, and the role of free radicals, glycine, and hormones. Chapters devoted to the neuroimaging of stroke, clinical trials, and the role of cerebral immune activation complete this informative collection of cutting-edge reviews.

The discovery of adult neurogenesis caused a paradigm shift in the neurosciences. For more than 100 years, it was believed that adult neurons do not regenerate. Joseph Altman and Fernando Nottebohm found proof to the contrary and changed the course of history. Their research, included here, provides the foundations of the field. Today, adult neurogenesis is a rapidly expanding discipline applicable to the study of brain development and diseases, learning and memory, aging, and neuropsychiatric disorders. With multiple authors, the 27 chapters of this book contain the latest work in two volumes. The first presents the basic biology of adult neurogenesis in non-mammalian vertebrates and in the mammalian hippocampus and olfactory bulb, and the second discusses clinical implications and delves into adult neurogenesis and brain injury as well as neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric pathologies. With details of the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of the two neurogenic brain regions, this book provides indispensable knowledge for many areas of neuroscience and for experimental and clinical applications of adult neurogenesis to brain therapy.

Mammalian Toll-like receptors (TLRs) were first identified in 1997 based on their homology with Drosophila Toll, which mediates innate immunity in the fly. In recent years, the number of studies describing TLR expression and function in the nervous system has been increasing steadily and expanding beyond their traditional roles in infectious diseases to neurodegenerative disorders and injury. Interest in the field serves as the impetus for this volume in the Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology series entitled "Toll-like receptors: Roles in Infection and Neuropathology." The first five chapters highlight more traditional roles for TLRs in infectious diseases of the CNS. The second half of the volume discusses recently emerging roles for TLRs in non-infectious neurodegenerative diseases and the challenges faced in these models with identifying endogenous ligands. Several conceptual theories are introduced in various chapters that deal with the dual nature of TLR engagement and whether these signals favor neuroprotective versus neurodegenerative outcomes. This volume should be informative for both experts as well as newcomers to the field of TLRs in the nervous system based on its coverage of basic TLR biology as well as specialization to discuss specific diseases of the nervous system where TLR function has been implicated. A must read for researchers interested in the dual role of these receptors in neuroinfection and neurodegeneration.

This compelling volume provides a broad and accessible overview on the rapidly developing field of social neuroscience. A major goal of the volume is to integrate research findings on the neural basis of social behavior across different levels of analysis from rodent studies on molecular neurobiology to behavioral neuroscience to fMRI imaging data on human social behavior.

INTEGRATED NEUROSCIENCES This textbook takes as a premise that, in order to make intelligent diagnosis and provide a rational treatment in disorders of the nervous system, it is necessary to develop the capacity to answer the basic questions of clinical neurology: (1) Where is the disease process located? (2) What is the nature of the disease process? The purpose of this textbook is to enable the medical student to acquire the basic information of the neurosciences and neurology and most importantly the ability to apply that information to the solution of clinical problems. The authors also suggest that hospital trips be a part of any Clinical Neurosciences Course so that the student can put into actual practice what he has learned in the classroom. We believe that this textbook will be of value to the student throughout the four years of the medical school curriculum. Medical, psychiatry and neurology residents may also find this text of value as an introduction or review. It is more true in neurology than in any other system of medicine that a firm knowledge of basic science material, that is, the anatomy, physiology and pathology of the nervous system, enables the student and physician to readily arrive at the diagnosis of where the disease process is located and the nature of the most likely pathology. Subsequently that knowledge may be applied to problem solving in clinical situations.