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This reference provides detailed coverage of dendritic spines, the fascinating neuronal components that modulate synaptic transmission, development, strength, and plasticity and are involved in the function of multiple areas of the nervous system. The density, shape, and function of spines may indicate the cellular connectivity and synaptic plasticity in normal and pathological conditions. This field has undergone dramatic advances in terms of techniques and experimental findings from in vitro to in vivo data, from animal models to human neurons, and computational models using artificial intelligence. To address these cutting-edge findings, the book provides state-of-the-art, comprehensive coverage with chapters written by the leading international researchers in the field. The authors consider the multiple implications for the study of dendritic spines with broad implications in the neurosciences and related areas.

This monograph, now in its 2nd edition with 31 new chapters and significant updates, is the first book of its kind written specifically for graduate students and clinicians. The monograph is based on the 4-volume treatise, Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders (Springer, 2013; 2nd edition: 2022), the definitive reference for scientists and neurologists in the field of cerebellar neurobiology and related areas. There have been fundamental advances in the basic science and clinical neurology of the cerebellum and its role in sensorimotor function and cognition. Essentials of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders makes this large and expanding body of knowledge readily accessible to trainees and clinicians alike. It is organized into easy to read and short chapters that are ideal for students and clinicians. The most common cerebellar disorders encountered in the clinic are covered. The editors are world leaders in the field, and the chapters are authored by an international panel of experts drawn from cerebellar laboratories and ataxia clinics throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Essentials provides a solid grounding in the field of cerebellar research and ataxiology from cerebellar cellular biology and circuity to clinical practice, and it serves as a springboard to a deeper appreciation of both the principles and the complexities of cerebellar neurobiology. Clinicians are expected to have a deep appreciation of cerebellar disorders, not only in specialized ataxia clinics but also in adult and pediatric neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and neuropsychology practices, and in outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation settings. This book is an indispensable resource for students and practitioners navigating the evolving field of cerebellar motor and cognitive neurology. It also links to the more expansive Handbook for those who need to explore the topics in this monograph in greater depth.

Our knowledge of cerebellar functions and cerebellar disorders, called ataxias, is increasing considerably. Studies of the cerebellum are now a central focus in neuroscience. During the last four decades, many laboratories worldwide have dedicated their research activities to understanding the roles of the cerebellum in motor control, cognitive processes and biology of mental processes, behavioral symptoms, and emotion. It is now accepted that the cerebellum acts as a cognitive operator in learning, perception, and attention. Moreover, major improvements in our assessment of in vivo cerebellar architecture using imaging techniques have occurred. A typical example is the accurate description of cerebellar anatomy during fetal development with MRI, a progress which has direct impacts on patient care. These advances have been associated with discoveries of new clinical disorders, in particular in the field of genetic ataxias. More than 20 new genes have been identified these last 10 years. Only for dominant ataxias, more than 30 diseases have now been unravelled. The number of ataxic disorders will increase with aging, the cerebellum being the structure of the brain with the most important loss of neurons with age. More than 300 different cerebellar disorders are encountered during daily practice, but we are missing a single source of information explaining their pathogenesis. Despite the immense amount of knowledge acquired about the cerebellar circuitry these last years, a large book covering the neuroscience of the cerebellum is missing. The goal of this endeavour is to bring up to date information relevant for basic science and also for clinical activities. To reach this goal, the most renowned authors are gathered in a unique and in-depth book with a format of a handbook. We emphasize the connections between molecular findings, imaging features, behavioural/neuropsychological aspects, and clinical implications.

This book focuses on the modern clinical management of acute and chronic pain syndromes. It not only presents information in a clinically illuminating format, but in a manner that is cognizant of the current prescription opioid epidemic. Divided into seven sections, this book covers acute pain, common pain conditions, regional pain problems, interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment, medical treatments and pain in different stages of life. Concluding with the exploration of several special topics, the last section includes an important discussion on the regulatory and legal issues in the use of controlled substances. Chapters are concise and relevant, with an emphasis on treatment based upon evidence from clinical trials and interpretation by practitioners in the field. Expertly written text is further supplemented by high-quality figures, images and tables outlining proven treatments with drug, dose or other information describing details oftreatment. Timely, informative, and socially conscious, Pain Management for Clinicians: A Guide to Assessment and Treatment is a valuable reference for clinicians who manage patients with chronic and common pain problems.

This book focuses on associative memory cells and their working principles, which can be applied to associative memories and memory-relevant cognitions. Providing comprehensive diagrams, it presents the author's personal perspectives on pathology and therapeutic strategies for memory deficits in patients suffering from neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. Associative learning is a common approach to acquire multiple associated signals, including knowledge, experiences and skills from natural environments or social interaction. The identification of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying associative memory is important in furthering our understanding of the principles of memory formation and memory-relevant behaviors as well as in developing therapeutic strategies that enhance memory capacity in healthy individuals and improve memory deficit in patients suffering from neurological disease and psychiatric disorders. Although a series of hypotheses about neural substrates for associative memory has been proposed, numerous questions still need to be addressed, especially the basic units and their working principle in engrams and circuits specific for various memory patterns. This book summarizes the developments concerning associative memory cells reported in current and past literature, providing a valuable overview of the field for neuroscientists, psychologists and students.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Brain Informatics, BI 2018, held in Arlington, TX, USA, in December 2018. The 46 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 53 submissions. The papers are grouped thematically on cognitive and computational foundations of brain science, human information processing systems, brain big data analysis, curation and management, informatics paradigms for brain and mental health research, brain-machine intelligence and brain-inspired computing.

This volume gives an overview of new insights to alcohol pharmacology using DREADDs (Designer Receptors and Unraveling the Neuropharmacology of Alcohol). It examines which pharmacological principles should be applied to understanding DREADDs taking into account some very current research. Additionally, this book covers important topics under the heading of “experimental pharmacology” and alcohol.

This book provides cutting-edge studies and technologies using small fishes, including zebrafish, medaka, and other fishes as new model animals for molecular biology, developmental biology, and medicine. It also introduces eccentric fish models that are pioneering new frontiers of biology.Zebrafish and medaka have been developed as lower vertebrate model organisms because these small fish are easy to raise in the laboratory and are useful for the live imaging of the morphology and activity of cells and tissues in intact animals. By virtue of those specific advantages, fish studies have demonstrated the common features of vertebrates and raised further questions toward understanding the mystery of life.The book consists of four parts: “Development and Cell Biology”, “Homeostasis and Reproduction”, “Clinical Models”, and “Eccentric Fish”. Together they describes the core area of small fish study – often considered mere zoology but which is actually proving to be theuniversal basis of life.Written by leading scientists, the book helps readers to understand small fishes, inspires scientists to utilize small fishes in their studies, and encourages anyone who wants to participate in the large and fantastic world of small fish.

This book offers representative examples from fly and mouse models to illustrate the ongoing success of the synergistic, state-of-the-art strategy, focusing on the ways it enhances our understanding of sensory processing. The authors focus on sensory systems (vision, olfaction), which are particularly powerful models for probing the development, connectivity, and function of neural circuits, to answer this question: How do individual nerve cells functionally cooperate to guide behavioral responses? Two genetically tractable species, mice and flies, together significantly further our understanding of these processes. Current efforts focus on integrating knowledge gained from three interrelated fields of research: (1) understanding how the fates of different cell types are specified during development, (2) revealing the synaptic connections between identified cell types (“connectomics”) using high-resolution three-dimensional circuit anatomy, and (3) causal testing of how identified circuit elements contribute to visual perception and behavior.

This book reports on cutting-edge modeling techniques, methodologies and tools used to understand, design and engineer nanoscale communication systems, such as molecular communication systems. Moreover, it includes introductory materials for those who are new to the field. The book's interdisciplinary approach, which merges perspectives in computer science, the biological sciences and nanotechnology, will appeal to graduate students and researchers in these three areas.The book is organized into five parts, the first of which describes the fundamentals of molecular communication, including basic concepts, models and designs. In turn, the second part examines specific types of molecular communication found in biological systems, such as neuronal communication in the brain. The book continues by exploring further types of nanoscale communication, such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer and electromagnetic-based nanoscale communication, in the third part, and by describing nanomaterials and structures for practical applications in the fourth. Lastly, the book presents nanomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery and biomolecular sensing.

Actin is one of the most abundant proteins and ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotes. In recent years, the analysis of structure and function of such complexes has shed new light on actin's role in cellular and tissue morphogenesis, locomotion and various forms of intracellular motility, but also on its role in nuclear processes like chromatin architecture and transcription. Progress in understanding these different physiological phenomena, but also in unravelling the basis of actin-based pathophysiological processes has been made by combining video microscopy, molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry. Thus, the current research on actin, as ongoing in many international laboratories, is a'hot spot'in basic and translational research in life sciences. In this book on'The Actin Cytoskeleton', twelve internationally renowned authors present specific chapters that cover their recent work concerned with the various roles of actin mentioned above. This comprehensive volume is therefore an attractive handbook for teachers and students in many fields of medicine and pharmacology.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, this book describes the biochemical mechanisms associated with dysregulation of proteases and the resulting pathophysiological consequences. It highlights the role and regulation of different types of proteases as well as their synthetic and endogenous inhibitors. The role of proteases was initially thought to be limited to general metabolic digestion. However, we now know that the role of protein breakdown is much more complex, and proteases have multiple functions: they are coupled to turnover and can affect protein composition, function and synthesis. In addition to eliminating abnormal proteins, breakdown has many modulatory functions, including activating and inactivating enzymes, modulating membrane function, altering receptor channel properties, affecting transcription and cell cycles and forming active peptides. The ubiquity of proteases in nature makes them an important target for drug development.This in-depth, comprehensive is avaluable resource for researchers involved in identifying new targets for drug development. With its multidisciplinary scope, it bridges the gap between fundamental and translational research in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries, making it thought-provoking reading for scientists in the field.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the roles of ᴅ-amino acids and latest research findings, to reveal their fascinating aspects and to facilitate better understanding of their important roles in physiology and diseases. It also provides useful hints for the development of drugs and functional foods. ᴅ-Amino acids were once called unnatural amino acids and were considered to be insignificant for eukaryotes especially in mammals. However, different ᴅ-amino acids have been revealed to be distributed in various mammalian tissues and to bear important physiological roles. For example, ᴅ-serine is implicated in memory formation and learning, and its abnormal concentration in tissues have been reported in neurological diseases such as schizophrenia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ᴅ-Aspartate is found in a variety of mammalian tissues, particularly in the central nervous system and the genitals. ᴅ-Aspartate facilitates the endocrine secretion of prolactin, inhibits the secretion of melatonin, and plays a peculiar role in the control of reproductive functions in mammals, including the stimulation of testosterone synthesis. Written by the leading scientists in the field, this book is a valuable source of information for researchers in biochemistry, physiology, and neuroscience, as well as in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Studies in human patients and animal models of disease suggest a strong correlation between defects in dendrite development and common neurological disorders such as autism. Much of this book is thus dedicated toward highlighting recent advances in our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the development and maintenance of dendrites, a crucial component of neurons. The book begins by presenting the current state of knowledge on the building blocks or cell biology of dendrites. Mechanisms that sculpt the stereotypic architecture of dendritic arbors and shape their connectivity are also discussed, along with recent work describing how dendritic organization and connectivity are perturbed in disease. A unique aspect of the book is its exploration of diverse neuronal cell types across vertebrates and invertebrates, allowing a comparison of mechanisms across distinct circuits and species. The book comprises six parts, which cover the major advances in thefield: Part 1, Introduction; Part 2, Basic Biology of Dendrites; Part 3, Patterning Dendritic Architecture of Neurons and Their Populations; Part 4, Cellular and Molecular Control of Dendrite Development and Maintenance; Part 5, Synapse Formation onto Dendrites; and Part 6, Dendrites in Disease. The book offers an excellent point of entry for students interested in neuroscience, as well as for clinicians.

This volume covers the current status of research in the neurobiology of motivated behaviors in humans and other animals in healthy condition. This includes consideration of the psychological processes that drive motivated behavior and the anatomical, electrophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms which drive these processes and regulate behavioural output. The volume also includes chapters on pathological disturbances in motivation including apathy, or motivational deficit as well as addictions, the pathological misdirection of motivated behavior. As with the chapters on healthy motivational processes, the chapters on disease provide a comprehensive up to date review of the neurobiological abnormalities that underlie motivation, as determined by studies of patient populations as well as animal models of disease. The book closes with a section on recent developments in treatments for motivational disorders.

This atlas provides a detailed insight into the complex structure and organization of cells and tissues, and highlights their specific functions as well as the dynamics of diverse intracellular processes. Highly informative electron micrographs are complemented by explanatory texts, selected references and schemes. The concept that subcellular organelles provide the structural foundation for fundamental processes of living organisms is emphasized. The first part covers the cellular organelles and changes caused by experiments or occurring under pathological conditions. The second part employs selected examples to illustrate the principles of functional tissue organization and typical changes resulting from experimental induction or pathological situations. The third edition of the atlas, revised and extended by 23 plates, thus provides an invaluable resource for scientists and students of medicine and biological sciences, particularly of histology, cell and molecular biology. Moreover, it will serve as a handy reference guide for diagnostic and research electron microscopy laboratories in clinical, industrial, and academic settings.

Receptor Tyrosine Kinase: Structure, Functions and Role in Human Disease, for the first time, systematically covers the shared structural and functional features of the RTK family. Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs) play critical roles in embryogenesis, normal physiology and several diseases. And over the last decade they have become the Number 1 targets of cancer drugs. To be able to conduct fundamental research or to attempt to develop pharmacological agents able to enhance or intercept them, it is essential first to understand the evolutionary origin of the 58 RTKs and their roles in invertebrates and in humans, as well as downstream signaling pathways. The assembly of chapters is written by experts and underscores commonalities between and among the RTKs. It is an ideal companion volume to The Receptor Tyrosine Kinase: Families and Subfamilies, which proceeds, family by family through all of the specific subfamilies of RTKs, along with their unique landmarks.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is characterised by the sudden death of an infant that is not predicted by prior medical history and it is still responsible for a large percentage of infant mortalities. The exact causes have long remained unknown, though some risk factors such as including exposure to tobacco smoke, no breast feeding, and prone sleeping position, have been identified. However an analysis linking neurophysiological and neuropathological aspects in a prospective study of SIDS suggests that one of the causes of SIDS is arousal deficiency. This unique book provides the latest, comprehensive information on SIDS research from epidemiology to physiology.​

This second of two volumes discusses subfamily proteins which function in molecular and vesicular transport mechanisms inside the cell. In this volume the focus lies on the Rab, Ran and Arf subfamily members. As in Volume 1, the book is written by international renowned scientists in the field of small G-proteins. In elaborate reviews, biochemistry, structure, function and G-protein - effector interactions are described. Together with Volume 1 this book provides an comprehensive state-of-the-art work on small G-proteins (GTPases). It is written for Graduates and Professors in Biochemistry and Cell Biology interested in the mechanism and function of small G-proteins but are extremely valuable for those who want to move into the field.

How can we obtain tools able to process and exchange information at the molecular scale? In order to do this, it is necessary to activate and detect single molecules under controlled conditions. This book focuses on the generation of biologically-inspired molecular devices. These devices are based on the developments of new photonic tools able to activate and stimulate single molecule machines. Additionally, new light sensitive molecules can be selectively activated by photonic tools. These technological innovations will provide a way to control activation of single light-sensitive molecules, allowing the investigation of molecular computation in a biological environment.

The book explains how to understand cognition in terms of brain anatomy, physiology and chemistry, using an approach adapted from techniques for understanding complex electronic systems. These techniques create hierarchies of information process based descriptions on different levels of detail, where higher levels contain less information and can therefore describe complete cognitive phenomena, but are more approximate. The nature of the approximations are well understood, and more approximate higher level descriptions can therefore be mapped to more precise detailed descriptions of any part of a phenomenon as required. Cognitive phenomena, the anatomy and connectivity of major brain structures, neuron physiology, and cellular chemistry are reviewed. Various cognitive tasks are described in terms of information processes performed by different major anatomical structures. These higher level descriptions are selectively mapped to more detailed physiological and chemical levels.

Growth in the pharmaceutical market has slowed down – almost to a standstill. One reason is that governments and other payers are cutting costs in a faltering world economy. But a more fundamental problem is the failure of major companies to discover, develop and market new drugs. Major drugs losing patent protection or being withdrawn from the market are simply not being replaced by new therapies – the pharmaceutical market model is no longer functioning effectively and most pharmaceutical companies are failing to produce the innovation needed for success. This multi-authored new book looks at a vital strategy which can bring innovation to a market in need of new ideas and new products: Systems Biology (SB). Modeling is a significant task of systems biology. SB aims to develop and use efficient algorithms, data structures, visualization and communication tools to orchestrate the integration of large quantities of biological data with the goal of computer modeling. It involves the use of computer simulations of biological systems, such as the networks of metabolites comprise signal transduction pathways and gene regulatory networks to both analyze and visualize the complex connections of these cellular processes. SB involves a series of operational protocols used for performing research, namely a cycle composed of theoretical, analytic or computational modeling to propose specific testable hypotheses about a biological system, experimental validation, and then using the newly acquired quantitative description of cells or cell processes to refine the computational model or theory.

The auditory system has a remarkable ability to adjust to an ever-changing environment. The six review chapters that comprise Plasticity of the Central Auditory System cover a spectrum of issues concerning this ability to adapt, defined by the widely applicable term'plasticity'. With chapters focusing on the development of the cochlear nucleus, the mammalian superior olivary complex, plasticity in binaural hearing, plasticity in the auditory cortex, neural plasticity in bird songs, and plasticity in the insect auditory system, this volume represents much of the most current research in this field. The volume is thorough enough to stand alone, but is closely related a previous SHAR volume, Development of the Auditory System (Volume 9) by Rubel, Popper, and Fay. The book fully addresses the difficulties, challenges, and complexities of this topic as it applies to the auditory development of a wide variety of species.

I would like first to thank Charles Woody and his organizing committee for arranging the symposium on the'Cellular Mechanisms of Conditioning and Behavioral Plasticity,'which was also a satellite meeting of the International Union of Physiological Sciences 30th International Congress. The proceedings of this symposium are represented by the chapters that follow. During the 1970s, Dr. Woody and co-workers were able to carry out a remarkable series of microelectrode studies, both intracellular and extracellular, of cortical nerve cells during conditioning of the eye-blink response to sound in the intact waking cat. He demonstrated enduring changes in excitability and membrane resistance in pericruciate cortical cells during associative conditioning of the eye blink, changes that are facilitated by ACh and cGMP and reinforced by stimulation of the hypothalamus (the latter con­ firming the original studies of Voronin). These findings have been of considerable im­ portance in our attempt to understand the conditioning process at the cellular level.

Neben der Darstellung ätiopathogenetischer Hypothesen des Torticollis spasmodicus aus neuro-orthopädischer Sicht werden die Ergebnisse einer eigenen innovativen Methode zur klinischen und elektrophysiologischen Untersuchung von Torticollispatienten in übersichtlicher Form vorgestellt. Die differenzierte Diagnostik mit semiquantitativer EMG-Auswertung ist eine unverzichtbare Entscheidungshilfe bei Indikation und Auswahl der effektivsten Operation. Diese ist besonders für den Neurochirurgen von Interesse.

Les Houches School, October 11-15, 1999

Here is the first effort in a single volume to cover all of the integrative functions of calcium signalling - how changes in intracellular calcium coordinate a variety of coherent cellular responses. Written by a team of internationally established researchers, Integrative Aspects of Calcium Signalling provides the latest experimental data and concepts, bringing together a detailed analysis of the events, processes, and functions regulated by calcium signalling. A unique resource for professionals and students of physiology, biophysics, neurobiology, biochemistry, and all related fields.

In Neuroorthopädie 1 - 4 wurden erstmals aus der Sicht aller beteiligten Fachgebiete vornehmlich die Erkrankungen aller Wirbelsäulenabschnitte, zumal der Halswirbelsäule, dargestellt. Sechs Jahre nach Neuroorthopädie 4 werden nun in Neuroorthopädie 5 ausgesuchte Fragestellungen behandelt. Viele Neuigkeiten und Änderungen gibt es in der neurophysiologischen und bildgebenden Diagnostik, ebenso in der manuellen, der physiotherapeutischen und der medikamentösen Therapie. Erhebliche Bedeutung hat der Konsens über die Beschleunigungsverletzung. Wichtig sind auch die Langzeitergebnisse beim Torticollis spasmodicus. International renommierte Referenten sorgen für konkurrenzlose interdisziplinäre Vielfalt.

This volume brings together authors working on a wide range of topics to provide an up to date account of the underlying mechanisms and functions of neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in the adult brain. With an increasing understanding of the role of neurogenesis and synaptogenesis it is possible to envisage improvements or novel treatments for a number of diseases and the possibility of harnessing these phenomena to reduce the impact of ageing and to provide mechanisms to repair the brain.

Neural networks are not rigidly wired but rather highly plastic structures, the functional architecture of which can be actively reorganized in response to external or internal events. Lesions of such networks induce plastic processes which in time may lead to a recovery of the initially disrupted function. This type of neural plasticity is the main focus of the book, which presents a broad spectrum of experimental paradigms for lesion-induced plasticity as in the spinal cord, the vestibular, oculomotor, visual and olfactory system, the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex, including recent methodological developments. Concepts and perspectives in understanding neural plasticity are reported in reviews and original research reports and are thoroughly discussed.

Senile dementia is one of the major health problems confronting mankind in this century. To some extent the problem has, of course, always existed. The condition was sufficiently troubling to classical philosophers and jurists to have apparently provoked comments by Solon in approximately 500 B. C. and Plato in the fourth century B. C. (Plutarch 1967 translation; Plato 1921 translation). Medical recognition can be traced at least as far back as the second century A. D. (Adams 1861). However, several factors have converged in this century to extend the absolute dimensions of the problem of senile dementia and to increase societal, medical, and scientific recogni­ tion of the magnitude of the condition. Perhaps the most important factor relating to the present importance of senile dementia is demographic. Although the human population has been increasing since the mid-eighteenth century, it has only been since the advent of the twentieth century that a decrease in mortality has been noted for those over the age of 45 (McKeown 1976). Consequently, the absolute number of aged persons and the proportion of increasingly aged persons in the populations of the world's industrial nations have been steadily increasing. For example, in the United States, 4% ofthe population was over the age of 65 in 1900. In the 1970 census, this proportion had grown to 10%.

This book introduces the current concepts of molecular mechanisms in synaptic plasticity and provides a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge research technology used to investigate the molecular dynamics of the synapses. It explores current concepts on activity-dependent remodeling of the synaptic cytoskeleton and presents the latest ideas on the different forms of plasticity in synapses and dendrites. Synaptic Plasticity in Health and Disease not only supplies readers with extensive knowledge on the latest developments in research, but also with important information on clinical and applied aspects. Changes in spine synapses in different brain disease states, so-called synaptopathies, are explained and described by experts in the field. By outlining basic research findings as well as physiological and pathophysiological impacts on synaptic plasticity, the book represents an essential state-of-the-art work for scientists in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology and the neurosciences, as well as for doctors in neurology and psychiatry alike.

Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in mammalian brain development remains limited. However, the last few years have wit­ nessed a quantum leap in our knowledge, due to technological improve­ ments, particularly in molecular genetics. Despite this progress, the available body of data remains mostly phenomenological and reveals very little about the grammar that organizes the molecular dictionary to articulate a pheno­ type. Nevertheless, the recent progress in genetics will allow us to contem­ plate, for the first time, the integration of observation into a coherent view of brain development. Clearly, this may be a major challenge for the next century, and arguably is the most important task of contemporary develop­ mental biology. The purpose of the present book is to provide an overview that syn­ thesizes up-to-date information on selected aspects of mouse brain devel­ opment. Given the format, it was not possible to cover all aspects of brain development, and many important subjects are missing. The selected themes are, to a certain extent, subjective and reflect the interests of the contributing authors. Examples of major themes that are not covered are peripheral nervous system development, including myelination, the development of the hippocampus and several other CNS structures, as well as the developmental function of some important morphoregulatory molecules.

This monograph begins with a general description of the cytoskeleton in axonal development and pathology and then moves to more detailed descriptions of particular components, including microtubules and associated proteins, neurofilaments and interacting proteins, actin and its binding proteins, and glial fibrillary acidic protein. The later chapters focus on the functional significance of the neuronal cytoskeleton in axonal transport and its regulation in health and disease states. The Cytoskeleton of the Nervous System will encourage further development of unifying principles and stimulate new conceptual and technical approaches toward a better understanding of cytoskeleton functions in health and disease.

This text is an introduction to the interface between the actin cytoskeleton and the myriad of issues fundamental to the understanding of the nervous system. It covers the neurobiology of actin ranging from basic cellular organization and function to the roles of actin in the health and disease states of the nervous system. Its opening chapter presents the fundamental concepts required to appreciate the details of the molecular machinery that regulates actin in a cellular context, setting the stage for the first part of the book which reviews the neurobiology of actin at the cellular level. The latter section of the book then discusses the functions of actin in the context of neurobiological issues ranging from early development to synaptic function and disease states of the nervous system. This text is intended for neuroscientists interested in investigating the actin cytoskeleton in the context of their particular neuroscience research program, and its chapters are cross-referenced in order to assist readers in finding relevant information that is covered in greater depth in other chapters.

This volume will explore the most recent findings on cellular mechanisms of inhibitory plasticity and its functional role in shaping neuronal circuits, their rewiring in response to experience, drug addiction and in neuropathology. Inhibitory Synaptic Plasticity will be of particular interest to neuroscientists and neurophysiologists.

Adhesive interactions are important for cell trafficking, differentiation, function and tissue formation. In the nervous system, many cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are involved in migration of neuroblasts, outgrowth and fasciculation of neuronal processes, formation of synapses and rearrangements of synaptic contacts associated with plasticity including learning and memory. More than eighty CAMs were found to be localized at synaptic sites, where they in a regulated manner bridge pre- and postsynaptic specializations thereby modulating synaptic function. Structure and Function of the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule NCAM describes recent developments concerning structural, functional and possible therapeutic aspects of one particular CAM, the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). NCAM is one of the first identified and most studied CAMs, and this book is the first attempt to collectively summarize our current knowledge of this important cell adhesion molecule.

Nanoneuroscience is the study of computationally relevant biomolecules found inside neurons. Because of recent technological advances at the nanometer scale, scientists have at their disposal increasingly better ways to study the brain and the biophysics of its molecules. This book describes how biomolecules contribute to the operations of synapses and perform other computationally relevant functions inside dendrites. These biomolecular operations considerably expand the brain-computer analogy - endowing each neuron with the processing power of a silicon-based multiprocessor. Amazingly, the brain contains hundreds of billions of neurons.

Recent years have witnessed striking advances in research on axons at a cellular level that substantially impact our current understanding of axonal biology. Newer findings and their ramifications are critically reviewed in the 16 chapters of this volume by authors highly qualified by virtue of their scientific contributions to research areas they know and write about. Five basic areas (I to V) germane to axonal biology are highlighted, beginning with (I) signaling interactions mediating myelination, and differentiation of axonal membrane domains; (IIa) issues surrounding organization and transport dynamics of neurofilaments in axons, (IIb) mechanisms regulating microtubule organization and dynamics, misregulation of which causes axonal degeneration, and (IIc) the roles actin binding proteins play in regulating organization and functions of the actin filament system in mature and growing axons; (IIIa) myosin motor proteins and cargoes intrinsic to the axon compartment, (IIIb) mitochondrial transport motors, and imperatives governing transport dynamics and directional delivery, (IIIc) mechanisms mediating retrograde signaling associated with NGF's role in trophic-dependent neuronal survival, and (IIId) potential for impaired subcellular targeting of a -synuclein as a mechanism for accumulation of Lewy body inclusions in synucleinopathies; (IVa) occurrence and organization of discrete ribosome-containing domains in axons, (IVb) endogenous mRNAs, classes of proteins translated locally, and RNP trafficking in axons, (IVc) importance of locally synthesized nuclear encoded mitochondrial proteins for maintenance, function and survival of axons, (IVd) occurrence of RNA trafficking from glial cells to axons, and significance glial RNA transcripts may play in expression in axons and axon terminals, (IVe) RNA trafficking and localization of RNA transcripts in axonal growth cones, and signaling pathways that modulate local protein synthesis for directionalelongation, and (IVf) genetic and molecular defects underlying spinal muscular atrophy, and roles that SMN gene product plays as a molecular chaperone in mRNA transport and translation; (Va) injury-induced local synthesis of a protein forming a retrograde signaling complex in axons to stimulate regeneration, and (Vb) endogenous and exogenous factors that condition axonal regenerative capacity in PNS and CNS, including injury-induced activation of specific genes governing regeneration. Emergent complexities revealed in this volume compel a major revision in the traditional conceptual model of the axon's intrinsic makeup and capacities.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Nano-Networks, Nano-Net 2009, held in Lucerne, Switherland, in October 2009. The 36 invited and regular papers address the whole spectrum of Nano-Networks and spans topis like modeling, simulation, statdards, architectural aspects, novel information and graph theory aspects, device physics and interconnects, nanorobotics as well as nano-biological systems. The volume also contains the workshop on Nano-Bio-Sensing Paradigms as well as the workshop on Brain Inspired Interconnects and Circuits.

The molecular mechanisms, which are responsible for the functional differences between the various types of neuronal synapses, have become one of the central themes of modern neurobiology. It is becoming increasingly clear that a misregulation of synaptogenesis and synaptic remodeling and dysfunctional neuronal synapses are at the heart of several human diseases, both neurological disorders and psychiatric conditions. As synapses present specialized cellular junctions between neurons and their target cells, it may not come as a surprise that neural cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are of special importance for the genesis and the maintenance of synaptic connections. Genes encoding adhesive molecules make up a significant portion of the human genome, and neural CAMs even have been postulated to be a major factor in the evolution of the human brain. These are just some of the many reasons why we thought a book on neural CAMs and their role in establishing and maintaining neuronal synapses would be highly appropriate for summarizing our current state of knowledge. Without question, over the near future, additional adhesive proteins will join the ranks of synaptic CAMs and our knowledge, and how these molecules enable neurons and their targets to communicate effectively will grow.

The synapse is a fascinating structure for many reasons. Biologically, it is an exquisitely organized subcellular compartment that has a remarkable capacity for fidelity and endurance. Computationally, synapses play a central role in signal transmission and processing that represent evolution's solution to learning and memory. Nervous systems, including our own brains, possess an extraordinary capacity for adaptation and memory because the synapse, not the neuron, constitutes the basic unit for information storage. Because the molecular complexities underlying signal processing and information storage must occur within the tiny space of the synapse, the precise molecular organization of proteins, lipids, and membranes at the synapse is paramount. Given the central role of the synapse in neuronal communication, it comes as no surprise that dysregulation of the synapse accounts for many, if not most, neurological and psychiatric disorders. Clinically, the synapse thus constitutes a primetarget for treatments of these diseases. It is for these reasons that we have chosen to focus our work on deciphering the structural and functional organization of the synapse. We have assembled leaders in the field of synapse biology to describe and distill the wonders and mysteries of the synapse. This book provides a fundamental description of the synapse developed over many decades by numerous investigators, paired with recent insight into new aspects of synapse structure and function that is still in flux and at the cutting edge of research.

This 5000-page masterwork is literally the last word on the topic and will be an essential resource for many. Unique in its breadth and detail, this encyclopedia offers a comprehensive and highly readable guide to a complex and fast-expanding field. The five-volume reference work gathers more than 10,000 entries, including in-depth essays by internationally known experts, and short keynotes explaining essential terms and phrases. In addition, expert editors contribute detailed introductory chapters to each of 43 topic fields ranging from the fundamentals of neuroscience to fascinating developments in the new, inter-disciplinary fields of Computational Neuroscience and Neurophilosophy. Some 1,000 multi-color illustrations enhance and expand the writings.

During most of the 20th century, neurodegenerative diseases remained among the most enigmatic disorders of medicine. The scientific study of these conditions was descriptive in nature, detailing the clinical and neuropathological phenotypes associated with various diseases, but etiologies and pathogenic mechanisms remained obscure. Beginning in the 1970s, advances in two principal areas – biochemical pathology and molecular genetics – combined to yield powerful clues to the molecular underpinnings of several previously'idiopathic'brain disorders. Among the classical neurodegenerative diseases, perhaps the most rapid progress occurred in research on Alzheimer's disease (AD). In disorders like Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and even Parkinson's disease, unbiased genetic screens, linkage analysis and positional cloning have identified causative genes that subsequently allowed the formulation of specific biochemical hypotheses. In sharp contrast, modern research on AD developed in the opposite order: the identification of the protein subunits of the classical brain lesions guided geneticists to disease-inducing genes, for example, APP, apolipoprotein E and tau. Thus, a biochemical hypothesis of disease - that AD is a progressive cerebral amyloidosis caused by the aggregation of the amyloid b-protein (Ab) - preceded and enabled the discovery of etiologies.