Neuronal Noise combines experimental, theoretical and computational results to show how noise is inherent to neuronal activity, and how noise can be important for neuronal computations. The book covers many aspects of noise in neurons, with an emphasis on the largest source of noise: synaptic noise. It provides students and young researchers with an overview of the important methods and concepts that have emerged from research in this area. It also provides the specialist with a summary of the large body of sometimes contrasting experimental data, and different theories proposed to explore the computational power that various forms of "noise" can confer to neurons.

Neuronal Noise covers many aspects of noise in neurons, with an emphasis on synaptic noise. It includes a combination of experimental, theoretical and computational results to show how noise is inherent to neuronal activity, and how noise can be important for neuronal computations. The goal of this book is to provide students and young researchers with an overview of the important methods and concepts that have emerged from research in this area. It also provides the specialist with a summary of the large body of sometimes contrasting experimental data, and the different theories proposed to explore the computational power that various forms of "noise" can confer to neurons.

Dynamic-clamp is a fascinating electrophysiology technique that consists of merging living neurons with computational models. The dynamic-clamp (also called "conductance injection") allows experimentalists and theoreticians to challenge neurons (or any other type of cell) with complex conductance stimuli generated by a computer.

The technique can be implemented from neural simulation environments and a variety of custom-made or commercial systems. The real-time interaction between the computer and cell also enables the design of recording paradigms with unprecedented accuracy via a computational model of the electrode. Dynamic-Clamp: From Principles to Applications contains contributions from leading researchers in the field, who investigate these paradigms at the cellular or network level, in vivo and in vitro, and in different brain regions and cardiac cells. Topics discussed include the addition of artificially-generated synaptic activity to neurons; adding, amplifying or neutralizing voltage-dependent conductances; creating hybrid networks with real and artificial cells; attaching simulated dendritic tree structures to the living cell; and connecting different neurons.

This book will be of interest to experimental biophysicists, neurophysiologists, and cardiac physiologists, as well as theoreticians, engineers, and computational neuroscientists. Graduate and undergraduate students will also find up-to-date coverage of physiological problems and how they are investigated.

About the Editors:

Dr. Alain Destexhe and Dr.Thierry Bal are Research Directors at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), a governmental research institution in France. Their laboratories are located in the CNRS campus of Gif-sur-Yvette in the research unit (Unite de Neurosciences Integratives et Computationnelles, UNIC). Gif-sur-Yvette is solely devoted to research and provides an ideal environment for close interaction between theory and experiments, as exemplified by the numerous publications on dynamic-clamp experiments co-authored by Dr. Bal and Dr. Destexhe. Each editor holds Ph.D.s in biophysics and neurobiology, respectively. Dr. Destexhe is also Chief Editor of the Journal of Computational Neuroscience. "

Dynamic-clamp is a fascinating electrophysiology technique that consists of merging living neurons with computational models. The dynamic-clamp (also called "conductance injection") allows experimentalists and theoreticians to challenge neurons (or any other type of cell) with complex conductance stimuli generated by a computer.

The technique can be implemented from neural simulation environments and a variety of custom-made or commercial systems. The real-time interaction between the computer and cell also enables the design of recording paradigms with unprecedented accuracy via a computational model of the electrode. Dynamic-Clamp: From Principles to Applications contains contributions from leading researchers in the field, who investigate these paradigms at the cellular or network level, in vivo and in vitro, and in different brain regions and cardiac cells. Topics discussed include the addition of artificially-generated synaptic activity to neurons; adding, amplifying or neutralizing voltage-dependent conductances; creating hybrid networks with real and artificial cells; attaching simulated dendritic tree structures to the living cell; and connecting different neurons.

This book will be of interest to experimental biophysicists, neurophysiologists, and cardiac physiologists, as well as theoreticians, engineers, and computational neuroscientists. Graduate and undergraduate students will also find up-to-date coverage of physiological problems and how they are investigated.

About the Editors:

Dr. Alain Destexhe and Dr.Thierry Bal are Research Directors at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), a governmental research institution in France. Their laboratories are located in the CNRS campus of Gif-sur-Yvette in the research unit (Unite de Neurosciences Integratives et Computationnelles, UNIC). Gif-sur-Yvette is solely devoted to research and provides an ideal environment for close interaction between theory and experiments, as exemplified by the numerous publications on dynamic-clamp experiments co-authored by Dr. Bal and Dr. Destexhe. Each editor holds Ph.D.s in biophysics and neurobiology, respectively. Dr. Destexhe is also Chief Editor of the Journal of Computational Neuroscience. "

Neuroscientists employ many different techniques to observe the activity of the brain, from single-channel recording to functional imaging (fMRI). Many practical books explain how to use these techniques, but in order to extract meaningful information from the results it is necessary to understand the physical and mathematical principles underlying each measurement. This book covers an exhaustive range of techniques, with each chapter focusing on one in particular. Each author, a leading expert, explains exactly which quantity is being measured, the underlying principles at work, and most importantly the precise relationship between the signals measured and neural activity. The book is an important reference for neuroscientists who use these techniques in their own experimental protocols and need to interpret their results precisely; for computational neuroscientists who use such experimental results in their models; and for scientists who want to develop new measurement techniques or enhance existing ones.

The horrific slaughter in Rwanda has once again driven home the deeply rooted existence and continuing presence of genocidal impulses. In this passionately argued volume-first published to great acclaim in France and considerably updated during the translation process-a deeply involved witness of the massacres takes an unflinching look at recent events in Rwanda and what they can tell us about the nature of genocide.

Table of Contents
Foreword
By William Shawcross
1. The Unlearned Lesson of History
2. Three Genocides in the Twentieth Century
3. The Hutu and the Tutsi
4. From Indifference to Compassion
5. Justice Must be Done
Appendix 1: Convention on the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Appendix 2: Chronology
Notes
Index