Laboratory animals are becoming increasingly important for biomedical research. It is said that approximately 70% of biomedical research is associated with the use of experimental animals. Laboratory animal research not only expands our knowledge of science, but also greatly improves human and animal health. The field of laboratory animal science is ever-growing and changing as new experimental techniques are developed and new animal models are created. It is essential to know not only the biological features of each laboratory animal but also how to use and care for them responsibly in order to perform high-quality experiments. Courses in beginning Laboratory Animal Science are starting to be offered in many universities throughout the world. However, a practical introductory textbook that contains state-of-the-art techniques is still lacking. Fundamentals of Laboratory Animal Science provides comprehensive information on the principles and practices of using laboratory animals for biomedical research. Each individual chapter focuses on a key sub-discipline of laboratory animal science: animal welfare and best humane care practices in the laboratory; the quality control of laboratory animals; the anatomy, physiology, and husbandry of commonly used species; the principles of creating and using animal models for studying human diseases; practical techniques used for laboratory animal experiments; experimental design; and animal experimentation management. Knowledge of this broad spectrum of concepts and skills will ensure research goes smoothly while greatly reducing animal pain and distress. Well-illustrated and thoroughly referenced, this book will serve not only as a standard textbook but also as a handy guide for veterinarians, researchers, animal care staff, administrators, and other professionals who are involved in laboratory animal science.

During the last two decades, there has been an explosion of research pertaining to the molecular mechanisms that allow for organisms to detect different stimuli that is an essential feature for their survival. Among these mechanisms, living beings need to be able to respond to different temperatures as well as chemical and physical stimuli. Thermally activated ion channels were proposed to be present in sensory neurons in the 1980s, but it was not until 1997 that a heat- and capsaicin- activated ion channel, TRPV1, was cloned and its function described in detail. This groundbreaking discovery led to the identification and characterization of several more proteins of the family of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) ion channels. Intensive research has provided us with the atomic structures of some of these proteins, as well as understanding of their physiological roles, both in normal and pathological conditions. With chapters contributed by renowned experts in the field, Neurobiology of TRP Channels contains a state- of- the- art overview of our knowledge of TRP channels, ranging from structure to their functions in organismal physiology. Features: * Contains chapters on the roles of several TRP ion channels with a diversity of physiological functions, providing a complete picture of the widespread importance of these proteins. * Presents an overview of the structure of TRP channels, including the roles of these proteins in different physiological processes. * Discusses the roles of TRP channels in pathophysiological processes, further highlighting their importance. * Features several full color illustrations to allow the reader better comprehension of TRP channels. A volume in the Frontiers in Neuroscience series

In this book, Mark Solms chronicles a fascinating effort to systematically apply the clinico-anatomical method to the study of dreams. The purpose of the effort was to place disorders of dreaming on an equivalent footing with those of other higher mental functions such as the aphasias, apraxias, and agnosias. Modern knowledge of the neurological organization of human mental functions was grounded upon systematic clinico-anatomical investigations of these functions under neuropathological conditions. It therefore seemed reasonable to assume that equivalent research into dreaming would provide analogous insights into the cerebral organization of this important but neglected function. Accordingly, the main thrust of the study was to identify changes in dreaming that are systematically associated with focal cerebral pathology and to describe the clinical and anatomical characteristics of those changes. The goal, in short, was to establish a nosology of dream disorders with neuropathological significance. Unless dreaming turned out to be organized in a fundamentally different way than other mental functions, there was every reason to expect that this research would cast light on the cerebral organization of the normal dream process.

Master the tools of design thinking using Neuroprosthetics: Principles and Applications. Developed from successfully tested material used in an undergraduate and graduate level course taught to biomedical engineering and neuroscience students, this book focuses on the use of direct neural sensing and stimulation as a therapeutic intervention for complex disorders of the brain. It covers the theory and applications behind neuroprosthetics and explores how neuroprosthetic design thinking can enhance value for users of a direct neural interface. The book explains the fundamentals of design thinking, introduces essential concepts from neuroscience and engineering illustrating the major components of neuroprosthetics, and presents practical applications. In addition to describing the approach of design thinking (based on facts about the user's needs, desires, habits, attitudes, and experiences with neuroprosthetics), it also examines how effectively "human centered" neuroprosthetics can address people's needs and interactions in their daily lives. Identifying concepts and features of devices that work well with users of a direct neural interface, this book: Outlines the signal sensing capabilities and trade-offs for common electrode designs, and determines the most appropriate electrode for any neuroprosthetic application Specifies neurosurgical techniques and how electronics should be tailored to capture neural signals Provides an understanding of the mechanisms of neural-electrode performance and information contained in neural signals Provides understanding of neural decoding in neuroprosthetic applications Describes the strategies that can be used to promote long-term therapeutic interventions for humans through the use of neuroprosthetics The first true primary text for undergraduate and graduate students in departments of neuroscience and bioengineering that covers the theory and applications behind this science, Neuroprosthetics: Principles and Applications provides the fundamental knowledge needed to understand how electrodes translate neural activity into signals that are useable by machines and enables readers to master the tools of design thinking and apply them to any neuroprosthetic application.

How do conscious experience, subjectivity, and free will arise from the brain and the body? Even in the late 20th century, consciousness was considered to be beyond the reach of science. Now, understanding the neural mechanisms underlying consciousness is recognized as a key objective for 21st century science. The cognitive neuroscience of consciousness is a fundamentally multidisciplinary enterprise, involving powerful new combinations of functional brain imaging, computational modelling, theoretical innovation, and basic neurobiology. Its progress will be marked by new insights not only into the complex brain mechanisms underlying consciousness, but also by novel clinical approaches to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. These innovations are well represented by the contents of the present volume. A target article by Victor Lamme puts forward the contentious position that neural evidence should trump evidence from behaviour and introspection, in any theory of consciousness. This article and its several commentaries advance one of the fundamental debates in consciousness science, namely whether there exists non-reportable phenomenal consciousness, perhaps dependent on local rather than global neural processes. Other articles explore the wider terrain of the new science of consciousness. For example, Maniscalco and colleagues use theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to selectively impair metacognitive awareness; Massimini and coworkers examine changes in functional connectivity during anesthesi, and Vanhaudenhuyse et al describe innovations in detecting residual awareness following traumatic brain injury. Together, then contents of this volume exemplify the `grand challenge of consciousness' in combining transformative questions about the human condition with a tractable programme of experimental and theoretical research.

There are many ways to approach the understanding of consciousness. Questions about these ways have occupied philosophers and metaphysicians for centuries. During the early growth of cognitive science the problem of consciousness remained taboo, but an increasing number of studies have either implicitly or explicitly begun to bear on its nature. These have been inspired by a number of different different original questions, and focus on a variety of different empirical phenomena. Thus, studies of implicit memory, subliminal processing, strategic versus automatic processing, allocation of attention, and differences between information processes in the awake versus dreaming state all share a common assumption of a particular quality or state -- awakeness, awareness, alertness, namely consciousness -- that somehow can be distinguished from another type of state or states in which the subject is not aware of the information being processed. What distinguishes the cognitive psychological and cognitive neuroscience approach to the question of consciousness from that of philosophy and metaphysics is scientific methodology: a set of tools that permit the empirical study of a phenomenon in an objective and reproducible way. Recent developments in both the empirical and theoretical methodologies of these fields have made it possible to begin to study the phenomenon associated with -- if not directly underlying -- consciousness in a scientific fashion. This volume tries to resolve the difficulties associated with the scientific investigation of consciousness. The intent is to explore the extent to which consciousness can be the target of direct scientific inquiry, to get on the table some of the relevant work, and consider the degree to which this research can help inform our understanding of consciousness. It brings together a group of cognitive and neuroscientists to share relevant recent research in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience and to determine whether any new strategies for the scientific pursuit of this question can be developed. A long-term goal is the development of a unified understanding of consciousness, scientific as well as philosophical perspectives. This volume takes the first step toward building the necessary local bridges.

There are many ways to approach the understanding of consciousness. Questions about these ways have occupied philosophers and metaphysicians for centuries. During the early growth of cognitive science the problem of consciousness remained taboo, but an increasing number of studies have either implicitly or explicitly begun to bear on its nature. These have been inspired by a number of different different original questions, and focus on a variety of different empirical phenomena. Thus, studies of implicit memory, subliminal processing, strategic versus automatic processing, allocation of attention, and differences between information processes in the awake versus dreaming state all share a common assumption of a particular quality or state -- awakeness, awareness, alertness, namely consciousness -- that somehow can be distinguished from another type of state or states in which the subject is not aware of the information being processed. What distinguishes the cognitive psychological and cognitive neuroscience approach to the question of consciousness from that of philosophy and metaphysics is scientific methodology: a set of tools that permit the empirical study of a phenomenon in an objective and reproducible way. Recent developments in both the empirical and theoretical methodologies of these fields have made it possible to begin to study the phenomenon associated with -- if not directly underlying -- consciousness in a scientific fashion.
This volume tries to resolve the difficulties associated with the scientific investigation of consciousness. The intent is to explore the extent to which consciousness can be the target of direct scientific inquiry, to get on the table some of the relevant work, and consider the degree to which this research can help inform our understanding of consciousness. It brings together a group of cognitive and neuroscientists to share relevant recent research in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience and to determine whether any new strategies for the scientific pursuit of this question can be developed. A long-term goal is the development of a unified understanding of consciousness, scientific as well as philosophical perspectives. This volume takes the first step toward building the necessary local bridges.

This volume continues to document and summarize developments, trends, and emergent interdisciplinary research in behavioral psychopharmacology. For researchers and graduate students in psychopharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, toxicology, and the neurosciences. This seventh volume continues to document and summarize developments, trends, and emergent interdisciplinary research in behavioral psychopharmacology. For researchers and graduate students in psychopharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, toxicology, and the neurosciences. This is the latest volume in a series that continues to document and summarize developments, trends, and emergent interdisciplinary research in behavioral pharmacology, psychopharmacology, and the neurosciences. The chapters, written by authorities in their respective research areas, provide up-to-date examination and analysis of dominant evolving research areas. Designed as a resource text for professionals, as well as a supplementary text for upper level undergraduate and graduate students of behavioral pharmacology, psychopharmacology, psychobiology, and related fields, this book, like the others in the Advances in Behavioral Pharmacology Series, provides comprehensive coverage unavailable elsewhere.

Precision Medicine in Neurodegenerative Disorders, Part Two, Volume 193 deals with the "How" in the reconfiguration of our approach to slow the progression of those suffering from diseases of accelerated brain aging. This second Handbook of Clinical Neurology volume offers a rethinking of the animal models on which therapies are tested; outlines the progress and expected changes in biological subtyping efforts using lysosomal, endosomal, mitochondrial, immune dysregulation, and inflammatory mechanisms of disease pathophysiology; and the growing role of microbiome in shaping disease and as a future target of therapeutic efforts. The volume separates the potentially disease-modifying neurorescue and neurorestoration, (e.g., gene therapy and cell replacement therapy) from true precision medicine -matching the biology of those affected with the mechanism of the intervention of interest. Specific chapters are dedicated to the promise and challenges of extracellular vesicles for both diagnosis and treatment, the growing application of digital measures and other evaluations of clinical response, the nuts and bolts of novel adaptive clinical trial designs, and the regulatory changes needed to facilitate drug development for disease-modification purposes.

Cellular Signal Processing offers a unifying view of cell signaling based on the concept that protein interactions act as sophisticated data processing networks that govern intracellular and extracellular communication. It is intended for use in signal transduction courses for undergraduate and graduate students working in biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and pharmacology, as well as medical students. The text is organized by three key topics central to signal transduction: the protein network, its energy supply, and its evolution. It covers all important aspects of cell signaling, ranging from prokaryotic signal transduction to neuronal signaling, and also highlights the clinical aspects of cell signaling in health and disease. This new edition includes expanded coverage of prokaryotes, as well as content on new developments in systems biology, epigenetics, redox signaling, and small, non-coding RNA signaling.

'This is the story of how your life shapes your brain, and how your brain shapes your life.' Join renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman on a whistle-stop tour of the inner cosmos. It's a journey that will take you into the world of extreme sports, criminal justice, genocide, brain surgery, robotics and the search for immortality. On the way, amidst the infinitely dense tangle of brain cells and their trillions of connections, something emerges that you might not have expected to see: you.

Neurostimulation for Epilepsy: Advances, Applications and Opportunities comprehensively reviews the diverse array of neurostimulation technologies currently in use and development for the treatment of epilepsy. The book covers basic research on mechanisms of neurostimulation, technical features of various FDA-approved and investigational devices for neurostimulation, clinical applications and programming considerations of these devices, and emerging insights and research based on data derived from these devices. It provides a contemporary assessment of neurostimulation in epilepsy, one that reveals recent progress in clinical applications and outcomes, fundamental questions that remain unanswered in the field, and future directions and considerations in developing next-generation devices.

Is the everyday understanding of belief susceptible to scientific investigation? Belief is one of the most commonly used, yet unexplained terms in neuroscience. Beliefs can be seen as forms of mental representations and one of the building blocks of our conscious thoughts. This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of what we currently know about the neural basis of human belief systems, and how different belief systems are implemented in the human brain. The chapters in this volume explain how the neural correlates of beliefs mediate a range of explicit and implicit behaviours ranging from moral decision making, to the practice of religion. Drawing inferences from philosophy, psychology, psychiatry, religion, and cognitive neuroscience, the book has important implications for understanding how different belief systems are implemented in the human brain, and outlines the directions which research on the cognitive neuroscience of beliefs should take in the future. The Neural Basis of Human Belief Systems will be of great interest to researchers in the fields of psychology, philosophy, psychiatry, and cognitive neuroscience.

The first edition of The Female Brain laid the groundwork for gaining a better understanding of the female brain, examining the evidence for structural and functional differences between the brains of males and females. Addressing a wealth of new research, the second edition continues in this vein, leading readers through the basic principles of anatomy and physiology and on to the complex behavioral functions which constitute the workings of the normal and abnormal female brain. Examines Questions about Structural and Functional Differences The book addresses the question of structural and functional differences between the female brain and the male brain. Are there differences? How good is the evidence? Where do the differences lie? Are there differences in the neuroanatomy of females, and if so, where? Do females and males process information differently, and if so, how? The author puts the relative lack of information on the female brain into historical perspective and reviews empirical evidence relevant to the different aspects of brain structure and function. She elucidates laterality, the functional asymmetry of the brain, the left brain-right brain distinctions, and how they differ between females and males. A Clear Presentation and Evaluation of Medical and Scientific Evidence Filled with rigorous scientific analysis in an easily accessible format and detailed explanatory diagrams, the book systematically develops the topic from anatomy to behavior. It draws on current research to explain why men and women behave differently and why these differences should be exploited when designing research and clinical studies.

This is a very unusual book. It brings to the English speaking reader a masterpiece written some 50 years ago by one of the greatest minds of the 20th century--Nicholai Aleksandrovich Bernstein--considered the founder of many contemporary fields of science such as biomechanics, motor control, and physiology of activity. Divided into two parts, this volume's first section is a translation of the Russian book "On Dexterity and Its Development." It presents, in a very reader-friendly style, Bernstein's major ideas related to the development and control of voluntary movements in general, and to the notion of dexterity, in particular. Although very few scientific works remain interesting to the reader 50 years after they were written, this volume--now available for the first time in English--is a rare exception to this rule. His ideas are certainly not obsolete. Actually, we are just starting to grasp the depth and breadth of his thinking, especially his analysis of the complex notion of dexterity. The second section provides both a historical and a contemporary perspective on Bernstein's ideas.
The original work was directed at a wide audience ranging from specialists in biomechanics and motor behavior, to coaches, neurologists, physical therapists, athletes, and even inquisitive college and high school students. The chapters contributed by contemporary scientists mirror Bernstein's style and present new findings in the areas of biomechanics, motor control, and motor development in a way that would be both understandable to non-specialists in these areas, and informative for professionals working in different areas related to human movement. All those interested in the origins and mechanisms of the production of voluntary movements, irrespective of their educational and professional background, will find this book valuable. In addition, the unique history and composition of this text will make it helpful and attractive to historians and philosophers of science.

Mirror neurons are premotor neurons, originally discovered in the macaque brain , that discharge both during execution of goal-directed actions and during the observation of similar actions executed by another individual. They therefore 'mirror' others' actions on the observer's motor repertoire. In the last decade an impressive amount of work has been devoted to the study of their properties and to investigate if they are present also in our species. Neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques have shown that a mirror-neuron system does exist in the human brain as well. Among 'mirror' human areas, Broca's area (the frontal area for speech production) is almost constantly activated by action observation. This suggests a possible evolutionary link between action understanding and verbal communication. In the most recent years, mirror-like phenomena have been demonstrated also for domains others than the pure motor one. Examples of that are the somatosensory and the emotional systems, possibly providing a neurophysiological basis to phenomena such as embodiment and empathy. This special issue collects some of the most representative works on the mirror-neuron system to give a panoramic view on current research and to stimulate new experiments in this exciting field.

Originally published in 1991, this title was the result of a symposium held at Harvard University. It presents some of the exciting interdisciplinary developments of the time that clarify how animals and people learn to behave adaptively in a rapidly changing environment. The contributors focus on aspects of how recognition learning, reinforcement learning, and motor learning interact to generate adaptive goal-oriented behaviours that can satisfy internal needs - an area of inquiry as important for understanding brain function as it is for designing new types of freely moving autonomous robots. Since the authors agree that a dynamic analysis of system interactions is needed to understand these challenging phenomena - and neural network models provide a natural framework for representing and analysing such interactions - all the articles either develop neural network models or provide biological constraints for guiding and testing their design.

In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts themselves present career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, and their major practical theoretical contributions. Glyn Humphreys is an internationally renowned cognitive neuropsychologist with research interests covering object recognition and its disorders, visual word recognition, object and spatial attention, the effects of action on cognition, and social cognition. Within the field of Psychology he has won a number of prestigious awards, including the Spearman Medal, the President's Award of the British Psychological Society, and the Donald Broadbent Prize from the European Society for Cognitive Psychology. This collection reflects the different directions in his work and approaches which have been adopted. It will enable the reader to trace key developments in cognitive neuropsychology in a period of rapid change over the last thirty years. A newly written introduction contextualises the selection in relation to changes in the field during this time. Attention, Perception and Action will be invaluable reading for students and researchers in visual cognition, cognitive neuropsychology and vision neuroscience.

Epilepsy, one of the most prevalent neurological disorders, affects approximately 1% (greater than 60 million) of the world's population. In an estimated 20 million of these patients, seizures are not controlled even by multiple anti-seizure drugs, and are extremely difficult to predict. Epilepsy: The Intersection of Neurosciences, Biology, Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics seamlessly brings together the neurosciences, mathematics, computational sciences, engineering, physics, and clinical epileptology to present to readers a highly didactic, integrated, clear and practically useful knowledge base and research directions. Laying out the foundations of signal analysis, data conditioning, linear and non-linear analysis, introduction to dynamical systems and fundamental anatomical and neurophysiological concepts, this book: Introduces non-physicians to language and concepts necessary to establish a meaningful dialog with epileptologists Introduces physicians to dynamical theory and signal processing without which interdisciplinary collaborations would not be productive Mines knowledge from fields devoted to the investigation of aperiodic paroxysmal relaxation phenomena, such as earthquakes, which bear dynamical similarities with epilepsy, so as to lay the proper scientific foundations for epileptology and foster much needed therapeutic advances efficiently Reviews spatiotemporal behavior of seizures, mechanisms of epileptogenesis and ictogenesis as well as of seizure control and ancillary technology Calls attention to nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy as a potentially fruitful paradigm for advancing seizure prediction. Of all neurological disorders, epilepsy demands of investigators the broadest and deepest knowledge of dynamical, control, and system theories, knowledge that cannot be amassed without possessing a certain level of sophistication in relevant areas of neurosciences, physics, mathematics, and engineering. Narrowing the inescapable cultural chasm that commonly fragments multidisciplinary efforts, this book captures and enriches the burgeoning interdisciplinary synergism in the nascent field of dynamical epileptology.

This collection of nine papers brings together Naoki Fukui's pioneering body of work on Merge, the basic operation of human language syntax, from the two distinct but related perspectives of theoretical syntax and neurosciences. Part I presents an overview of the development of the theory of Merge and its current formulations in linguistic theory, highlighting the author's previously published papers in theoretical syntax, while Part II focuses on experimental research on Merge in the brain science of language, demonstrating how new techniques and the results they produce can inform the study of syntactic structures in the brain in the future. By combining insights from theoretical linguistics and neurosciences, this book presents an innovative unified account of the study of Merge and paves new directions for future research for graduate students and scholars in theoretical linguistics, neuroscience, syntax, and cognitive science.

This book describes a unique combination of research programs based on a striking variety of hypotheses and procedures directed toward understanding the sources and consequences of neurobehavioral plasticity. This remarkable attribute of the nervous system -- to be pliable and capable of being shaped or formed by natural or artificial sources toward adaptation or maladaptation -- is considered in terms of the neurochemical forces and neuroanatomical structure that has been found to be pivotal for this function. The impetus for this volume was a symposium held to honor Robert L. Isaacson for his scientific and pedagogical achievements as well as his contributions to behavioral neuroscience.
Corresponding to his three major research interests, the book is divided into three sections as follows:
* the first explores the relationship between the limbic system and behavior, with an emphasis on learning and memory;
* the second considers -- through a wide range of approaches -- issues of plasticity in behavior and brain; and
* the third deals with neural and chemical determinants of normal and abnormal behavior.
This volume is not only a fitting tribute to Isaacson, but also an unusual collection of new evidence, procedures, and theories destined to have significant influence on behavioral neuroscience.

One particularly adaptive feature of human cognition is the ability to mentally preview specific events before they take place in reality. Familiar examples of this ability-often referred to as episodic future thinking-include what happens when an employee imagines when, where, and how they might go about asking their boss for a raise, or when a teenager anguishes over what might happen if they ask their secret crush on a date. In this book, the editors bring together current perspectives from researchers from around the globe who are working to develop a deeper understanding of the manner in which the simulations of future events are constructed, the role of emotion and personal meaning in the context of episodic simulation, and how the ability to imagine specific future events relates to other forms of future thinking such as the ability to remember to carry out intended actions in the future. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.

In this two volume festschrift, contributors explore the theoretical developments (Volume I) and applications (Volume II) in traditional cognitive psychology domains, and model other areas of human performance that benefit from rigorous mathematical approaches. It brings together former classmates, students and colleagues of Dr. James T. Townsend, a pioneering researcher in the field since the early 1960s, to provide a current overview of mathematical modeling in psychology. Townsend's research critically emphasized a need for rigor in the practice of cognitive modeling, and for providing mathematical definition and structure to ill-defined psychological topics. The research captured demonstrates how the interplay of theory and application, bridged by rigorous mathematics, can move cognitive modeling forward.