Connecting in vitro and in vivo studies of the mammalian brain. In this book Mircea Steriade cautions against the tendency of some neuroscientists to infer global brain functions such as arousal and sleep, epileptic events, and even conscious thinking from the properties of single cells. Based on his lifetime of research on intact brains, Steriade emphasizes the need to understand isolated networks within the context of the whole mammalian brain and to understand the brain of a behaving animal in terms of its fully dissected circuits. As much as knowledge of brain anatomy and function has progressed, Steriade is highly skeptical about the quest to relate consciousness to specific neuronal types. The book's sections are Changing Concepts of Localization of Brain Function, Evolution of Methods in Brain Studies, Similar and Contrasting Results from Studies in the Intact and Sliced Brain, Building Blocks of Synaptic Networks Underlying Normal and Paroxysmal States, and Of Neurons and Consciousness.

Connecting in vitro and in vivo studies of the mammalian brain.

In little less than a decade brain slices have gained prominence among neurobiologists as appropriate tools to study cellular electrophysiolog ical aspects of mammalian brain function. The purpose of this volume is to present in some detail several inquiries in the brain sciences that have benefited greatly by the use of brain slices. The book is directed primarily toward advanced students and researchers wishing to evaluate the impact these in vitro preparations of the mammalian brain are having on neurobiology. The term brain slice has come to refer to thin (100-700 j. Lm) sections of a brain region prepared from adult mammals and maintained for many hours in vitro, for either electrophysiological or biochemical stud ies. In addition to good accessibility, slices feature relatively intact syn aptic connections that allow a variety of experiments not feasible with standard in vivo or tissue culture preparations. Certain electrophysiol ogical studies once practical only with invertebrate models are becoming routine with mammalian brain slices. The ability to perform both bio chemical and electro physiological experiments on the same piece of CNS tissue provides additional bright prospects for future research. Although most of the electrophysiological studies have dealt with hippocampal slices, it should be evident from this book that slice methodology is not limited to the hippocampus. The Appendix, "Brain Slice Methods," is a multiauthored treatment of the technical aspects of brain slice work, collected into one document.

Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran is internationally renowned for uncovering answers to the deep and quirky questions of human nature that few scientists have dared to address. His bold insights about the brain are matched only by the stunning simplicity of his experiments -- using such low-tech tools as cotton swabs, glasses of water and dime-store mirrors. In Phantoms in the Brain, Dr. Ramachandran recounts how his work with patients who have bizarre neurological disorders has shed new light on the deep architecture of the brain, and what these findings tell us about who we are, how we construct our body image, why we laugh or become depressed, why we may believe in God, how we make decisions, deceive ourselves and dream, perhaps even why we're so clever at philosophy, music and art. Some of his most notable cases: A woman paralyzed on the left side of her body who believes she is lifting a tray of drinks with both hands offers a unique opportunity to test Freud's theory of denial. A man who insists he is talking with God challenges us to ask: Could we be "wired" for religious experience? A woman who hallucinates cartoon characters illustrates how, in a sense, we are all hallucinating, all the time. Dr. Ramachandran's inspired medical detective work pushes the boundaries of medicine's last great frontier -- the human mind -- yielding new and provocative insights into the "big questions" about consciousness and the self.

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.