It has been remarked that if the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't. Commencing with a brief history of neuroscience, from the ancient practice of drilling holes in the head to relieve headaches to the latest results from MRI and CT scans, this accessible guide sets out to explore exactly what we do know about the brain. Including the most up-to-date research on the cerebral processes behind a wide array of human activity - from our capacity for language to how we remember - this lively and entertaining introduction assumes no previous scientific knowledge and offers a tantalizing glimpse into man's most complex organ.

Many human diseases--including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, cancer, and cardiovascular disease--show complex inheritance that requires sophisticated analysis. Genetics of Complex Human Diseases: A Laboratory Manual brings together the tools that geneticists use to find disease genes with the genetic concepts and statistical theories that underpin these research approaches. Topics covered include basic genetics and Mendelian inheritance, statistical methods, genetic epidemiology, linkage studies, transmission disequilibrium test analysis, variance components analysis, genome-wide association studies, copy-number variation, methods for high-throughput genotyping, the complexity of RNA editing, and genetic computer programs. The book's chapters, written by leading investigators in the field, blend practical information and reviews of each topic, providing both the how and the why of complex disease analysis. Genetics of Complex Human Diseases is an important guide for anyone with an interest in human genetics or who uses genetic techniques in the study of diseases with complex inheritance.