"Neurosciences" a comprehensive approach

This textbook covers neuroscience from cellular and molecular mechanisms to behavior and cognitive processing. We also address evolution of the nervous system, computational neuroscience, the history of neuroscience as a discipline and neurophilosophy to name but a few. The book provides the newest state-of-the-art knowledge about neuroscience from across the animal kingdom, with particular emphasis on model species commonly used in neuroscience labs across the world: mouse, zebra fish, fruit fly, honeybee, and nematode worm. We aim at university students of neuroscience, psychology, biological sciences, and medical sciences, but also computer scientists, philosophers, or anybody interested in understanding how brains work.

Two leading neuroscientists introduce the concepts of cerebral plasticity and the regenerating brain, describing what we know now about the processes through which the brain constantly reconstructs itself and the potential benefits this knowledge might have in addressing concerns for neurological, cognitive, and emotional health. The authors begin with a survey of the fundamental scientific developments that led to our current understanding of the regenerative mind, elucidating some of the breakthrough neurobiological studies that paved the way for our present understanding of the brain's plasticity and regenerative capabilities. They then discuss the application of these findings to such issues as depression, dyslexia, schizophrenia, and cognitive therapy, incorporating the latest technologies in neuroimaging, optogenetics, and nanotechnology. Their work shows the brain is anything but a static organ, ceasing to grow as human beings become adults. Rather, the brain is dynamic, evolving organically in relation to physical, cultural, historical, and affective stimuli, a plasticity that provides great hope to survivors of trauma and degenerative disorders.