This volume is a collection of articles written by Nobel Laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini and published from 1942 to 1995. Studies described in the first part set the stage for the discovery of a protein molecule which became known as the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), described in detail in the second part. The NGF synthesized in minute amounts in all vertebrate tissues, plays an essential role in the differentiation and survival of several nerve cell populations in the peripheral and central nervous system. The discovery of the NGF was defined by the Nobel Foundation as a milestone in developmental neurobiology, and the author was awarded in 1986 with this prestigious award. Studies pursued in subsequent years and still in progress, have unveiled other fundamental properties of the NGF, described in the third part of this volume.

The autobiography of Levi-Montalcini, who won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986. Born in Torino into a middle-class Jewish family, she experienced the rise of fascism and antisemitism in the 1930s-40s (discussed on pp. 73-105). After the promulgation of the racial laws in 1938, it was impossible for her to pursue research at the Neurological Clinic and she continued her work in private. She survived the war hiding in a small town in Italy and later emigrated to the United States.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a complex neural network embedded in the gut wall that orchestrates the reflex behaviors of the intestine. The ENS is often referred to as the “little brain” in the gut because the ENS is more similar in size, complexity and autonomy to the central nervous system (CNS) than other components of the autonomic nervous system. Like the brain, the ENS is composed of neurons that are surrounded by glial cells. Enteric glia are a unique type of peripheral glia that are similar to astrocytes of the CNS. Yet enteric glial cells also differ from astrocytes in many important ways. The roles of enteric glial cell populations in the gut are beginning to come to light and recent evidence implicates enteric glia in almost every aspect of gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology. However, elucidating the exact mechanisms by which enteric glia influence gastrointestinal physiology and identifying how those roles are altered during gastrointestinal pathophysiology remain areas of intense research. The purpose of this e-book is to provide an introduction to enteric glial cells and to act as a resource for ongoing studies on this fascinating population of glia. Table of Contents: Introduction / A Historical Perspective on Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia: The Astroglia of the Gut / Molecular Composition of Enteric Glia / Development of Enteric Glia / Functional Roles of Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia and Disease Processes in the Gut / Concluding Remarks / References / Author Biography

The book highlights different aspects of current understanding of neurotrophin-receptor signal transduction pathways, including the signaling endosome hypothesis. Findings on the synaptotrophic potential of NGF and related neurotrophins, neurotrophin involvement in neuronal stem cell biology, biological activity of the NGF precursor proNGF, and nociception- and antinociception-associated activity of NGF and/or BDNF are also presented and discussed. Several chapters deal with the involvement of various neurotrophins in the control of different nonneuronal processes, such as immune, inflammatory and allergic reactions, tissue repair and wound healing. The findings showed that neurotrophins play important roles in the pathobiology of a surprising variety of seemingly unrelated non-neurological diseases, including bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, hair growth disorders, psoriasis, corneal and skin ulcers, atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, crush syndrome, and Behçet's disease. There are also chapters on the involvement of NGF and related molecules in neurological diseases, including Huntington's disease, the multiple sclerosis-like model of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, peripheral neuropathies, neuroblastoma, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and even motion sickness syndrome, also psychiatric disorders, including depression and schizophrenia. Finally, potential important therapeutic benefits are presented, for diabetic neuropathy, gastrointestinal dysmotility, CNS neurodegenerative disease, spinal cord injuries, cutaneous and corneal ulcers, as well as peripheral ischemic vasculopathy.

Fundamental Neuroscience, Third Edition introduces graduate and upper-level undergraduate students to the full range of contemporary neuroscience. Addressing instructor and student feedback on the previous edition, all of the chapters are rewritten to make this book more concise and student-friendly than ever before. Each chapter is once again heavily illustrated and provides clinical boxes describing experiments, disorders, and methodological approaches and concepts.Capturing the promise and excitement of this fast-moving field, Fundamental Neuroscience, 3rd Edition is the text that students will be able to reference throughout their neuroscience careers! 30% new material including new chapters on Dendritic Development and Spine Morphogenesis, Chemical Senses, Cerebellum, Eye Movements, Circadian Timing, Sleep and Dreaming, and Consciousness Additional text boxes describing key experiments, disorders, methods, and concepts Multiple model system coverage beyond rats, mice, and monkeys Extensively expanded index for easier referencing

Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

This book provides critical reviews of the role of neurotrophins and their receptors in a wide variety of diseases including neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington’s syndrome, cognitive function, psychiatric disorders such as clinical depression, Rett syndrome, motoneurone disease, spinal cord injury, pain, metabolic disease and cardiovascular disease. It also contains contributions from leaders in the field dealing with the basic biology, transcriptional and post-translational regulation of the neurotrophins and their receptors. The present book will review all recent areas of progress in the study of neurotrophins and their biological roles.

Much anecdotal information has suggested an influence of psychology and the nervous system on immunity within the skin and the expression of inflammatory skin disorders. Recent years have seen an explosion of knowledge providing a scientific basis for important regulatory interactions between the nervous system, the endocrine system and the immune system within the skin. The results of recent investigations have important implications, not only for an understanding of cutaneous immunity, but also for the development of novel treatments for diseases involving abnormal inflammation or immune reactivity within the skin. This book provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary review of the molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry and clinical aspects of nervous system–immune system interactions within the skin. It includes contributions from leading world experts in these areas. The contents are relevant to both investigators and clinicians interested in the skin, its functions and its disorders.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “In this dramatic page-turner, Raymond Arroyo has captured the life and lessons of Mother Angelica, a woman who may well be the patron saint of CEOs.”—Lee Iacocca, The Iacocca Family Foundation, former CEO of the Chrysler Corporation In 1981, a simple nun, using merely her entrepreneurial instincts and two hundred dollars, launched what would become the world’s largest religious media empire. In the garage of a Birmingham, Alabama, monastery, the Eternal Word Television Network grew at a staggering pace under her guidance. Mother Angelica (1923–2016) remains on the air, offering faith-filled advice, hope, and laughter to her audience through rebroadcasts of her original homilies. Raymond Arroyo, through more than five years of exclusive interviews with Mother Angelica, traces her tortuous rise to success and exposes for the first time the fierce opposition she faced, both outside and inside her church.

Assigned to investigate a series of deaths of magic practitioners, all of whom lacked the ability to become full-fledged wizards, professional Chicago wizard Harry Dresden is shocked when the evidence points to his half-brother Thomas as the killer, until he uncovers a conspiracy within the White Council of Wizards that threatens both him and his family. 100,000 first printing.