Leading international authorities report on their in vivo studies of neuron glia interactions in animals with simple nervous systems (insects, fish, amphibians, and reptiles). Their work amounts to an in-depth account of many of the principal functions of glial cells: myelination, regulation of ionic environment, neurotransmitter compartmentation and neurotransmitter receptors, blood brain barrier, regeneration, and aging. Part I examines the origin and role of glial cells during development across the phylogenetic spectrum, including the evolution of their particular functions. Part II discusses the physiological and metabolic interactions between neurons and glia, again across phylogenetic groups. Neuron Glia Interrelations During Phylogeny illuminates the evolution of the nervous system and expands our knowledge of the mechanisms involved in regeneration and central nervous system repair. It constitutes a virtual encyclopedia of up-to-date findings concerning the significant roles played by glial cells in neuronal development and function.

Leading neuroscience researchers offer a fresh perspective on neuronal function by examining all its many components-including their pertubation during major disease states-and relate each element to neuronal demands. Topics range from the dependency of neurons on metabolic supply, as well as on both ion and transmitter homeostasis, to their close interaction with the myelin sheath. Also addressed are the astrocytic signaling system that controls synaptic transmission, the extracellular matrix and space as communication systems, the role of blood flow regulation in neuronal demand and in blood-brain barrier function, and inflammation and the neuroimmune system. Insightful and integrative, The Neuronal Environment: Brain Homeostasis in Health and Disease demonstrates a clear new understanding that neurons do not work in isolation, that they need constant interactions with other brain components to process information, and that they are not the only information processing system in the brain.

This 1998 book discusses how neurons and glial cells interact with each other to influence behaviour.

A distinguished panel of internationally recognized neuroscientists comprehensively review the involvement of and changes in glial cells both during the normal aging process and in the major disorders of old age. Topics range from the cellular and molecular changes that occur with aging-especially aging-associated activation of astrocytes and microglia and its relation to neuronal injury and repair-to neuron-glia intercommunication. The contributors show how glial signals may be modulated by hormones, growth factors, neurotransmitters, intracellular metabolism, and intercellular exchanges, as well as by aging of the blood-brain barrier.

The striatum is the principal input structure of the basal ganglia. Numerically, the great majority of neurons in the striatum are spiny projection neurons, which produce the inhibitory output of the striatum to the globus pallidum and substantia nigra. The major glutamatergic afferents to the striatum from the cerebral cortex make monosynaptic contact with spiny projection neurons. The dopaminergic afferents from the substantia nigra also synapse directly on the spiny projection neurons. Thus, the spiny projection neurons play a crucial role in the input–output operations of the striatum by integrating glutamatergic cortical inputs with dopaminergic inputs and producing the output to other basal ganglia nuclei. Anatomical observations made nearly 30 years ago suggested that inhibitory interactions among the spiny projection neurons of the striatum are very pr- able. Individual spiny projection neurons produce a local axonal plexus in the spheroidal space occupied by their own dendritic trees [1, 2]. Based on the GABAergic nature of these neurons and their synaptic contacts with other spiny neurons, several authors have proposed that the spiny projection neurons form a lateral inhibition type of neural network [3–5]. In the idealised concept of lateral inhibition, each output neuron makes inhibitory synaptic contact with its neighbours [5]. However, there are physical limitations set by the extent of axonal and dendritic trees, and the number of synaptic sites, which mean that lateral inhibition is limited to a local domain of inhibition.

Cell Cycle in the Central Nervous System overviews the changes in cell cycle as they relate to prenatal and post natal brain development, progression to neurological disease or tumor formation.Topics covered range from the cell cycle during the prenatal development of the mammalian central nervous system to future directions in postnatal neurogenesis through gene transfer, electrical stimulation, and stem cell introduction. Additional chapters examine the postnatal development of neurons and glia, the regulation of cell cycle in glia, and how that regulation may fail in pretumor conditions or following a nonneoplastic CNS response to injury. Highlights include treatments of the effects of deep brain stimulation on brain development and repair; the connection between the electrophysiological properties of neuroglia, cell cycle, and tumor progression; and the varied immunological responses and their regulation by cell cycle.

Developing the second edition of Neural Development and Stem Cells was neces- tated by the rapid increase in our knowledge of the development of the nervous system. It has become increasingly clear that stem cells are a heterogeneous population that changes extensively during development. Perhaps the most important advance in our understanding of stem cell behavior has been the realization that regionalization of stem cells occurs early in development and this bias toward differentiation in phe- types of neurons or cells characteristic of a particular part of the brain appears to persist even after prolonged culture. We have therefore included additional chapters on olf- tory epithelial stem cells and retinal stem cells, both of which differ in their properties from ventricular zone and subventricular zone–derived neural stem cells. It is also now clear from an analysis of mutants and transgenics where the death or self-renewal pa- way is altered that cell death regulates stem cell number. As a consequence, this second edition includes a separate chapter on cell death that summarizes the important changes in the death pathway that occur as stem cells mature. The existing chapters in the book have also been extensively revised and updated by experts who have generously c- tributed their time and expertise. The chapters have been organized along the lines of our understanding of how the nervous system develops (Fig. 1, on p. vi).

As our world continues to evolve, the field of regenerative medicine f- lows suit. Although many modern day therapies focus on synthetic and na- ral medicinal treatments for brain repair, many of these treatments and prescriptions lack adequate results or only have the ability to slow the p- gression of neurological disease or injury. Cell therapy, however, remains the most compelling treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, disorders, and injuries, including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and stroke, which is expanded upon in more detail in Chapter 1 by Snyder and colleagues. Cell therapy is also unique in that it is the only therapeutic strategy that strives to replace lost, damaged, or dysfunctional cells with healthy ones. This repair and replacement may be due to an administration of exogenous cells itself or the activation of the body’s own endogenous reparative cells by a trophic, immune, or inflammatory response to cell transplantation. However, the precise mechanism of how cell therapy works remains elusive and is c- tinuing to be investigated in terms of molecular and cellular responses, in particular. Moreover, Chapter 11 by Emerich and associates, discusses some of the possibilities of cell immunoisolation and the potential for treating central nervous system diseases.