This book presents results of current research conducted in the I. Beritashvili Center of Experimental Biomedicine (former I. Beritashvili Institute of Physiology, Tbilisi, Georgia) and is devoted to the experimental investigation of systemic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of physiological functions and their disorders in pathology. More precisely, the results of the following studies are described and discussed: The new, original theory of the fourth main state of an organisms vitality; memory impairments following excitotoxic lesions; biologically positive behavioral indices of the transition state, caused by informational stress and their pharmacological regulation; functioning of mechanisms responsible for perception constancy; peculiarities of EEG characteristics in individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of the basic mechanisms for neocortical and hippocampal arousal; changes in learning ability and induction of aggressive behavior caused by manganese loading and ionising radiation; hippocampal activity during learning in different behavioral paradigms; molecular mechanism of PARP-1 action; significance of the diencephalic GABAergic neurons in normal and pathological activity of the brain; cellular mechanisms of antinociceptive tolerance; thermal stability of model globular protein; kinetic features of transport ATPases; antiseizure drugs and EEG in epileptic patients; effect of depakin on EEG epileptiform elements; how six domains form one enzyme; therapeutic potential of extracellular ubiquitin; effect of toluene chronic exposure on hippocampal structure; and the mechanisms of local hyperthermia caused by morphological changes in cerebral tissue.

The I. Beritashvili Center of Experimental Biomedicine was established in 2010 on the basis of merging four well-known Georgian research institutes. They are: The I. Beritashvili Institute of Physiology, one of the most prominent research centers of Georgia, where basic and applied research in different fields of neurophysiology has been conducted since 1935; the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics; the Center for Radiology and Radiation Ecology, which for many years operated as departments at the I. Beritashvili Institute of Physiology; and one of the leading research centers for Georgia: The Center of Experimental Neurology. This edited book is the second volume containing chapters constituting the research priorities of the I. Beritashvili Center of Experimental Biomedicine and covers the experimental study of fundamental issues in the functioning of physiological (mainly, neurophysiological) mechanisms during normal and pathological conditions. The first book Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Physiological Functions and Their Disorders published by Nova Science Publishers Inc. in 2015, was also devoted to the same general problems. In the present edited book, particular attention is drawn to the study of extremely important processes underlying the basic mechanisms and disorders of various phenomenon of integrative activity of the brain: General behavior, learning and memory processes, the sleep-wakefulness cycle, regulation of adequate blood supply, hormesis, vision, depression, experimental comatose state, epilepsy, tumor diseases, pain and analgesia, the state of anxiety and aggression. All of the mentioned processes are studied on the molecular, cellular and systemic levels of their organization. It has to be noted herewith that each chapter within the collection of works represents the results of separate, independent studies implemented by different scientific departments of the Center; therefore, the chapters are not directly related to each other and have been arranged alphabetically based on the surnames of the authors. The authors would like to take this opportunity and present to the reader the scientific and institutional infrastructure of the Center, which consists of departments and laboratories. Nowadays, the Center is comprised of seven departments: Neurophysiology, Membranology, Biochemistry, Blood Circulation and Metabolism, Neurotoxicology, Biophysics and Radiobiology and nine laboratories: Behavior and Cognitive Functions, Physiology of Vision, Neurobiology of Sleep-Wakefulness Cycle, Ultra- and Nanoarchitectonics of the Brain, Experimental Neurology, Pain and Analgesia, Bioinformatics, Structure and Function of Genomes, and the Problems of Radiation Safety. In addition to bilateral scientific cooperation with many famous European and American scientific institutions, the Center is a member of the International Science Consortium From Molecular to Cellular Events in Human Pathologies, of which the 2015 Annual Meeting was held in Tbilisi. The authors are sure that readers are fully aware of the theoretical and practical importance of the research related to problems of systemic, cellular and molecular mechanisms of physiological functions and their disorders. The presented collection of works contains the results of relevant research conducted over the last three years (2015-2018). The authors will be very grateful for any feedback, recommendations and suggestions regarding their research for the implementation of which they have invested a lot of effort, time, knowledge and experience.