Intended for use by advanced undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, The Neuron: Cell and Molecular Biology is a fascinating study of the unique biochemical and physiological properties of neurons, emphasizing the molecular mechanisms that generate and regulate their activity. There have been enormous advances in neuroscience in the five years since the first edition was published. and the authors have revised all their chapters to keep abreast of the progress. What was formerly the first chapter has been expanded substantially and divided into two separate chapters to emphasize features of the cell biology of neurons and glia and their commonalities with other kinds of cells. The section on intracellular communication has also been expanded and reorganized. The authors introduce the concept of ion channels as specialized membrane proteins at an early stage, making it easier to understand the idea of selective membrane permeability in terms of the properties of particular ion channel proteins. In addition, they emphasize the astonishing diversity of the voltage-dependent ion channels that has become evident in recent years, and discuss the implications of this diversity for neuronal physiology. In the section on intercellular communication, the chapter on secretion of neurotransmitters has also been rewritten to reflect the new level of understanding of secretion that has resulted from identification of many of the molecular players in vesicle fusion and exocytosis. Here again, information from many kinds of cells, including lower eukaryotes, has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of secretion. The remaining chapters in the section on intercellular communication have also been revised thoroughly to include new information resulting from the cloning and characterization of the multitude of glutamate receptors as well as to describe novel elements of intracellular signaling pathways in neurons and other cells. Finally, the last section has been substantially revised since molecular studies of development and plasticity have also been exceptionally fruitful during the last five years. As more and more of the molecular entities that are essential for neuronal development and adult plasticity are identified and characterized, phenomena that previously could be studied only at the descriptive level can now be explained in greater depth.

Vasco Nunez De Balboa

Product Description: cytochemical techniques (ICC) which provide a useful adjunct to investigations by immunoblotting. A particular advantage of a cytochemical approach to the investiga­ tion of mitochondrial disorders is that it allows the mosaic distribution of certain of these defects to be detected, whereas the tissue homogeniza­ tion involved in conventional enzyme assays or immunoblotting precludes this...read more

The controversial topic of sexual harassment in the United States is explored in this unique collection of over 90 documents. The political and social aspects of the concept of sexual harassment are examined through such documents as legal cases that defined and prohibited sexual harassment, government documents, major studies, and newspaper accounts of major developments concerning sexual harassment. Each document is accompanied by an explanatory introduction to help high school and college students understand how that particular document fits into larger trends, while also making it more accessible to the reader.The question of what sexual harassment is and how we have developed an awareness of the concept in the late twentieth century is explored in detail in six separate sections. The first section reviews the definition of sexual harassment and why it is considered illegal. The next three sections investigate sexual harassment as it has arisen in three contexts: employment, the military, and education. The fifth section examines the ways laws have been expanding beyond the areas of employment, the military and education. The final section provides the most current rulings of the Supreme Court involving sexual harassment. These six sections provide a comprehensive history that explores legal prohibitions on sexual harassment, setting forth important historical cases, while focusing on current areas of controversy, such as same-sex sexual harassment and free speech issues.

Electrophysiological techniques are vital to modern biology in general and are of particular significance in neuroscience. This volume provides a practical introduction to the methods used for studying single cells and complex neural tissues. Detailed advice is given not only for handling and culturing neural tissues and cells, but also for the mathematical approaches to modeling neuronal behavior and analysing the quantal release of neurotransmitters. An important sourcebook of protocols, helpful hints, and expert advice, it will prove invaluable to researchers in neuroscience, physiology, cell biology, and related areas.

Product Description: Since the pioneering discovery of cyclic AMP four decades ago, a multitude of signaling pathways have been uncovered in which an extracellular signal (first messenger) impacts the cell surface, thereby triggering a cascade that ultimately acts on the cell nucleus...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

This book is a collection of papers describing some of the first attempts to apply the techniques of recombinant DNA and molecular biology to studies of the nervous system. We believe this is an important new direction for brain research that will eventually lead to insights not pos­ sible with more traditional approaches. At first glance, the marriage of molecular biology to brain research seems an unlikely one because of the tremendous disparity in the histories of these two disciplines and the problems they face. Molecular biology is by nature a reductionist approach to biology. Molecular biologists have always tried to attack central questions in the most direct approach possible, usually in the most simple system available: a bacterium or a bacterial virus. Important experiments can usually be repeated quickly and cheaply, in many cases by the latest group of graduate students entering the field. The success of molecular biology has been so profound because the result of each important experiment has made the next critical question obvious, and usually answerable, in short order. Studies of the nervous system have a very different history. First, the human brain is what really interests us and it is the most complex structure that we know in biology. The central question is clear: How do we carry out higher functions such as learning and thinking? How­ ever, at present there is no widely accepted and testable theory of learn­ ing and no clear path to such a theory.

Product Description: This book describes recent developments concerning structural, functional and possible therapeutic aspects of one particular CAM, the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM).

Product Description: Despite major efforts by the scientific community over the years, our understanding of the pathogenesis or the mechanisms of injury of multiple sclerosis is still limited. Consequently, the current strategies for treatment and management of patients are limited in their efficacy...read more

Product Description: This one-stop cross-cultural selective guide to recent retellings of myths and hero tales for children and young adults will enable teachers and library media specialists to select comparative myths and tales from various, mostly non-European cultures...read more

Product Description: This book offers the most up-to-date information on important topics of neurobiology covering from brain development to diseases. The text is designed to provide the subject material in five sections containing 24 chapters. Section A introduces the structure and development of the brain, showing how they are specialized for the functions they serve...read more

Product Description: The future of neurosurgery will be characterized by less invasive, molecular technologies that promise to revolutionize the field of neurosurgery and impact the treatment of additional neurological disorders, including neurometabolic diseases, stroke, dementias, affective and psychiatric diseases, movement disorders, epilepsy, and others...read more