The hippocampus is one of the most intriguing structures of the human brain. Damage to this part causes symptoms ranging from transient disorders accompanied by tiny lesions to severely debilitating cognitive disorders with marked tissue loss. This publication provides a predominantly clinical approach to the complex workings of the hippocampus from different perspectives, ranging from basic principles to specific diseases. The first part of the book summarizes current knowledge regarding the structure and physiology of the hippocampus and establishes the ties to basic neuroscience. The second part deals with the function and assessment of the human hippocampus, including memory function, neuropsychological measures, and conventional and functional imaging studies. The chapters of the third part are devoted to the hippocampus in neurological disorders, e.g. the interaction between stress and memory function, and the pathological conditions of common as well as selected rare neurological diseases affecting the hippocampus. The book is highly recommended to clinical neurologists who wish to gain a broad understanding of this complex and fascinating organ in terms of basic principles, modern imaging findings, and specific diseases.

This book is for students and researchers who have a specific interest in learning and memory and want to understand how computational models can be integrated into experimental research on the hippocampus and learning. It emphasizes the function of brain structures as they give rise to behavior, rather than the molecular or neuronal details. It also emphasizes the process of modeling, rather than the mathematical details of the models themselves. The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides a tutorial introduction to topics in neuroscience, the psychology of learning and memory, and the theory of neural network models. The second part, the core of the book, reviews computational models of how the hippocampus cooperates with other brain structures -- including the entorhinal cortex, basal forebrain, cerebellum, and primary sensory and motor cortices -- to support learning and memory in both animals and humans. The book assumes no prior knowledge of computational modeling or mathematics. For those who wish to delve more deeply into the formal details of the models, there are optional "mathboxes" and appendices. The book also includes extensive references and suggestions for further readings.

This volume on the relationship between neuroanatomy and associated behaviour, thinking and emotions, provides a synthesis of findings from all fields in the neuroscience, medical, developmental, evolutionary and clinical literature regarding brain-behaviour relationships. It shows how the brain works in consciousness, memory, language, and emotion, and deals with psychiatric abnormalities resulting from specific brain injuries.

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

Turn to Fundamental Neuroscience for a thorough, clinically relevant understanding of this complicated subject! Integrated coverage of neuroanatomy, physiology, and pharmacology, with a particular emphasis on systems neurobiology, effectively prepares you for your courses, exams, and beyond. Consult this title on your favorite e-reader with intuitive search tools and adjustable font sizes. Elsevier eBooks provide instant portable access to your entire library, no matter what device you're using or where you're located. Easily comprehend and retain complex material thanks to the expert instruction of Professor Duane Haines, recipient of the Henry Gray/Elsevier Distinguished Teacher Award from the American Association of Anatomists and the Distinguished Teacher Award from the Association of American Colleges. Your purchase of this book entitles you to access www.studentconsult.com at no extra charge. This innovative web site offers you an interactive center with a wealth of additional resources. Grasp important anatomical concepts and their clinical applications thanks to correlated state-of-the-art imaging examples, anatomical diagrams, and histology photos. Retain key information and efficiently study for your exams with clinical highlights integrated and emphasized within the text.

Looking beyond the now widely recognized relationships between stress and physical illness, this accessible and engagingly written book suggests that stress and stress-related hormones can also endanger the brain.

The hippocampus is one of a group of remarkable structures embedded within the brain's medial temporal lobe. Long known to be important for memory, it has been a prime focus of neuroscience research for many years. The Hippocampus Book promises to facilitate developments in the field in a major way by bringing together, for the first time, contributions by leading international scientists knowledgeable about hippocampal anatomy, physiology, and function. This authoritative volume offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date account of what the hippocampus does, how it does it, and what happens when things go wrong. At the same time, it illustrates how research focusing on this single brain structure has revealed principles of wider generality for the whole brain in relation to anatomical connectivity, synaptic plasticity, cognition and behavior, and computational algorithms. Well-organized in its presentation of both theory and experimental data, this peerless work vividly illustrates the astonishing progress that has been made in unraveling the workings of the brain. The Hippocampus Book is destined to take a central place on every neuroscientist's bookshelf.

The discovery of adult neurogenesis caused a paradigm shift in the neurosciences. For more than 100 years, it was believed that adult neurons do not regenerate. Joseph Altman and Fernando Nottebohm found proof to the contrary and changed the course of history. Their research, included here, provides the foundations of the field. Today, adult neurogenesis is a rapidly expanding discipline applicable to the study of brain development and diseases, learning and memory, aging, and neuropsychiatric disorders. With multiple authors, the 27 chapters of this book contain the latest work in two volumes. The first presents the basic biology of adult neurogenesis in non-mammalian vertebrates and in the mammalian hippocampus and olfactory bulb, and the second discusses clinical implications and delves into adult neurogenesis and brain injury as well as neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric pathologies. With details of the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of the two neurogenic brain regions, this book provides indispensable knowledge for many areas of neuroscience and for experimental and clinical applications of adult neurogenesis to brain therapy.

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

A Nobel Prize–winning neuroscientist’s probing investigation of what brain disorders can tell us about human nature Eric R. Kandel, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his foundational research into memory storage in the brain, is one of the pioneers of modern brain science. His work continues to shape our understanding of how learning and memory work and to break down age-old barriers between the sciences and the arts. In his seminal new book, The Disordered Mind, Kandel draws on a lifetime of pathbreaking research and the work of many other leading neuroscientists to take us on an unusual tour of the brain. He confronts one of the most difficult questions we face: How does our mind, our individual sense of self, emerge from the physical matter of the brain? The brain’s 86 billion neurons communicate with one another through very precise connections. But sometimes those connections are disrupted. The brain processes that give rise to our mind can become disordered, resulting in diseases such as autism, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. While these disruptions bring great suffering, they can also reveal the mysteries of how the brain produces our most fundamental experiences and capabilities—the very nature of what it means to be human. Studies of autism illuminate the neurological foundations of our social instincts; research into depression offers important insights on emotions and the integrity of the self; and paradigm-shifting work on addiction has led to a new understanding of the relationship between pleasure and willpower. By studying disruptions to typical brain functioning and exploring their potential treatments, we will deepen our understanding of thought, feeling, behavior, memory, and creativity. Only then can we grapple with the big question of how billions of neurons generate consciousness itself.