Gap Junctions in the Nervous System

Gap Junctions in the Nervous System
Author: David C. Spray
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3662219352

This book deals with the types of gap junction proteins (connexins) and their distribution within the nervous system, the physiological properties of channels formed of each connexin, and the role of gap junction channels in functions of normal and pathological brain and peripheral nerve. Although glial tissue is emphasized, additional groups of chapters deal with neurons in the central nervous system and with the retina.

The olivo-cerebellar system

The olivo-cerebellar system
Author: Egidio D'Angelo
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2016-04-29
Genre: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
ISBN: 288919826X

During the last decades, investigations on the olivo-cerebellar system have attained a high level of sophistication, which led to redefinitions of several structural and functional properties of neurons, synapses, connections and circuits. Research has expanded and deepened in so many directions and so many theories and models have been proposed that an ensemble review of the matter is now needed. Yet, hot topics remain open and scientific discussion is very lively at several fronts. One major question, here as well as in other major brain circuits, is how single neurons and synaptic properties emerge at the network level and contribute to behavioural regulation via neuronal plasticity. Other major aspects that this Research Topic covers and discusses include the development and circuit organization of the olivo-cerebellar network, the established and recent theories of learning and motor control, and the emerging role of the cerebellum in cognitive processing. By touching on such varied and encompassing subjects, this Frontiers Special Topic aims to highlight the state of the art and stimulate future research. We hope that this unique collection of high-quality articles from experts in the field will provide scientists with a powerful basis of knowledge and inspiration to enucleate the major issues deserving further attention.

Intercellular Communication in the Nervous System

Intercellular Communication in the Nervous System
Author: Robert Malenka
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 777
Release: 2010-05-22
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0123785723

Intercellular communication is part of a complex system of communication that governs basic cellular activities and coordinates cell actions. The ability of cells to perceive and correctly respond to their environment is the basis of growth and development, tissue repair, and immunity as well as normal tissue homeostasis. Errors in cellular information processing are responsible for diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, diabetes, and neurological and psychiatric disorders. There is substantial drug development concentrating on this and intercellular communication is the basis of much of neuropharmacology. By understanding cell signaling, diseases may be treated effectively and, theoretically, artificial tissues may be yielded. Neurotransmitters/receptors, synaptic structure and organization, gap junctions, neurotrophic factors and neuropeptides are all explored in this volume, as are the ways in which signaling controls neuroendocrinology, neuroimmunology and neuropharmacology. Intercellular Communication in the Nervous System provides a valuable desk reference for all scientists who consider signaling. Chapters offer impressive scope with topics addressing neurotransmitters/receptors, synaptic structure and organization, neuropeptides, gap junctions, neuropharmacology and more Richly illustrated in full color with over 200 figures Contributors represent the most outstanding scholarship in the field, with each chapter providing fully vetted and reliable expert knowledge

History of the Synapse

History of the Synapse
Author: Max R. Bennett
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2003-09-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0203302540

The History of the Synapse provides a history of those discoveries concerning the identification and function of synapses that provide the foundations for research during this new century with a personal view of the process by which new concepts have developed. Previously published as essays, the chapters in this book provide a history of various aspects of synaptic function, beginning with the evolution over two and a half thousand years and how progress was made in the establishment of a conceptual structure that would allow the synapse to be identified at the beginning of the 20th century. Numerous illustrations explain either the technical approach or the experimental finding.

Environmental Neurotoxicology

Environmental Neurotoxicology
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 167
Release: 1992-02-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309045312

Scientists agree that exposure to toxic agents in the environment can cause neurological and psychiatric illnesses ranging from headaches and depression to syndromes resembling parkinsonism. It can even result in death at high exposure levels. The emergence of subclinical neurotoxicity-the concept that long-term impairments can escape clinical detection-makes the need for risk assessment even more critical. This volume paves the way toward definitive solutions, presenting the current consensus on risk assessment and environmental toxicants and offering specific recommendations. The book covers: The biologic basis of neurotoxicity. Progress in the application of biologic markers. Reviews of a wide range of in vitro and in vivo testing techniques. The use of surveillance and epidemiology to identify neurotoxic hazards that escape premarket screening. Research needs. This volume will be an important resource for policymakers, health specialists, researchers, and students.

Network Functions and Plasticity

Network Functions and Plasticity
Author: Jian Jing
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2017-04-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0128034998

Network Functions and Plasticity: Perspectives from Studying Neuronal Electrical Coupling in Microcircuits focuses on the specific roles of electrical coupling in tractable, well-defined circuits, highlighting current research that offers novel insights for electrical couplingā€˜s roles in sensory and motor functions, neural computations, decision-making, regulation of network activity, circuit development, and learning and memory. Bringing together a diverse group of international experts and their contributions using a variety of approaches to study different invertebrate and vertebrate model systems with a focus on the role of electrical coupling/gap junctions in microcircuits, this book presents a timely contribution for students and researchers alike. Provides an easy-to-read introduction on neural circuits of the model system Focuses on the specific roles of electrical coupling in tractable, well-defined circuits Includes recent discoveries and findings that are presented in the context of historical background Outlines outstanding issues and future research in the field

Brainstem Control of Wakefulness and Sleep

Brainstem Control of Wakefulness and Sleep
Author: Mircea M. Steriade
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1475746695

This book is part of an ongoing history of efforts to understand the nature of waking and sleeping states from a biological point of view. We believe the recent technological revolutions in anatomy and physiology make the present moment especially propitious for this effort. In planning this book we had the choices of producing an edited volume with invited chapter authors or of writing the book ourselves. Edited volumes offer the opportunity for expression of expertise in each chapter but, we felt, would not allow the development of our ideas on the potential and actual unity of the field and would not allow the expression of coherence that can be obtained only with one or two voices, but which may be quite difficult with a chorus assembled and performing together for the first time. (Unlike musical works, there is very little precedent for rehearsals and repeated performances for authors of edited volumes or even for the existence of conductors able to induce a single rhythm and vision of the composition. ) We thus decided on a monograph. The primary goal was to communicate the current realities and the future possibilities of unifying basic studies on anatomy and cellular physiology with investigations of the behavioral and physi ological events of waking and sleep. In keeping with this goal we cross-reference the basic cellular physiology in the latter chapters, and, in the last chapter, we take up possible links to relevant clinical phenomenology.