This collection of fifteen previously published papers, some of them not widely available, have been carefully chosen and annotated by Rall's colleagues and other leading neuroscientists. Wilfrid Rall was a pioneer in establishing the integrative functions of neuronal dendrites that have provided a foundation for neurobiology in general and computational neuroscience in particular. This collection of fifteen previously published papers, some of them not widely available, have been carefully chosen and annotated by Rall's colleagues and other leading neuroscientists. It brings together Rall's work over more than forty years, including his first papers extending cable theory to complex dendritic trees, his ground-breaking paper introducing compartmental analysis to computational neuroscience, and his studies of synaptic integration in motoneurons, dendrodendritic interactions, plasticity of dendritic spines, and active dendritic properties. Today it is well known that the brain's synaptic information is processed mostly in the dendrites where many of the plastic changes underlying learning and memory take place. It is particularly timely to look again at the work of a major creator of the field, to appreciate where things started and where they have led, and to correct any misinterpretations of Rall's work. The editors' introduction highlights the major insights that were gained from Rall's studies as well as from those of his collaborators and followers. It asks the questions that Rall proposed during his scientific career and briefly summarizes the answers.

This collection of fifteen previously published papers, some of them not widely available, have been carefully chosen and annotated by Rall's colleagues and other leading neuroscientists.

With over 300 training programs in neuroscience currently in existence, demand is great for a comprehensive textbook that both introduces graduate students to the full range of neuroscience, from molecular biology to clinical science, but also assists instructors in offering an in-depth course in neuroscience to advanced undergraduates.The second edition of Fundamental Neuroscience accomplishes all this and more. The thoroughly revised text features over 25% new material including completely new chapters, illustrations, and a CD-ROM containing all the figures from the text. More concise and manageable than the previous edition, this book has been retooled to better serve its audience in the neuroscience and medical communities.Key Features* Logically organized into 7 sections, with uniform editing of the content for a "one-voice" feel throughout all 54 chapters* Includes numerous text boxes with concise, detailed descriptions of specific experiments, disorders, methodological approaches, and concepts* Well-illustrated with over 850 full color figures, also included on the accompanying CD-ROM

Neural network research often builds on the fiction that neurons are simple linear threshold units, completely neglecting the highly dynamic and complex nature of synapses, dendrites, and voltage-dependent ionic currents. Biophysics of Computation: Information Processing in Single Neurons challenges this notion, using richly detailed experimental and theoretical findings from cellular biophysics to explain the repertoire of computational functions available to single neurons. The author shows how individual nerve cells can multiply, integrate, or delay synaptic inputs and how information can be encoded in the voltage across the membrane, in the intracellular calcium concentration, or in the timing of individual spikes.Key topics covered include the linear cable equation; cable theory as applied to passive dendritic trees and dendritic spines; chemical and electrical synapses and how to treat them from a computational point of view; nonlinear interactions of synaptic input in passive and active dendritic trees; the Hodgkin-Huxley model of action potential generation and propagation; phase space analysis; linking stochastic ionic channels to membrane-dependent currents; calcium and potassium currents and their role in information processing; the role of diffusion, buffering and binding of calcium, and other messenger systems in information processing and storage; short- and long-term models of synaptic plasticity; simplified models of single cells; stochastic aspects of neuronal firing; the nature of the neuronal code; and unconventional models of sub-cellular computation.Biophysics of Computation: Information Processing in Single Neurons serves as an ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in cellular biophysics, computational neuroscience, and neural networks, and will appeal to students and professionals in neuroscience, electrical and computer engineering, and physics.

Dendrites are complex neuronal structures that receive and integrate synaptic input from other nerve cells. They therefore play a critical role in brain function. Although dendrites were discovered over a century ago, due to the development of powerful new techniques there has been a dramatic resurgence of interest in the properties and function of these beautiful structures. This is the third edition of the first book devoted exclusively to dendrites. It contains a comprehensive survey of the current state of dendritic research across a wide range of topics, from dendritic morphology, evolution, development, and plasticity through to the electrical, biochemical and computational properties of dendrites, and finally to the key role of dendrites in brain disease. The third edition has been thoroughly revised, with the addition of a number of new chapters and comprehensive updates or rewrites of existing chapters by leading experts. "Dendrites" will be of interest to researchers and students in neuroscience and related fields, as well as to anyone interested in how the brain works.

Recent developments have extended our knowledge of the basic functions of nerves: notably, the demonstration of the mechanism within nerve fibers which transports a wide range of essential materials. In order to understand how this discovery occurred, it is necessary to examine its history. The story begins in ancient Greece when nerves were conceived of as channels through which animal spirits carried sensory impressions to the brain. As science developed, the discoveries of various physical and chemical agents supplanted the agency of animal spirits until the molecular machinery of transport was recognized. In this fascinating and complete history, Sidney Ochs begins with a chronological look at this path of discovery, followed in the second half by a thematic approach wherein the author describes the electrical nature of the nerve impulse, fiber form and its changes in degeneration and regeneration, reflexes, learning, memory and other higher functions in which transport participates.

Neuronal dendritic trees are complex structures that endow the cell with powerful computing capabilities and allow for high neural interconnectivity. Studying the function of dendritic structures has a long tradition in theoretical neuroscience, starting with the pioneering work by Wilfrid Rall in the 1950s. Recent advances in experimental techniques allow us to study dendrites with a new perspective and in greater detail. The goal of this volume is to provide a résumé of the state-of-the-art in experimental, computational, and mathematical investigations into the functions of dendrites in a variety of neural systems. The book first looks at morphological properties of dendrites and summarizes the approaches to measure dendrite morphology quantitatively and to actually generate synthetic dendrite morphologies in computer models. This morphological characterization ranges from the study of fractal principles to describe dendrite topologies, to the consequences of optimization principles for dendrite shape. Individual approaches are collected to study the aspects of dendrite shape that relate directly to underlying circuit constraints and computation. The second main theme focuses on how dendrites contribute to the computations that neurons perform. What role do dendritic morphology and the distributions of synapses and membrane properties over the dendritic tree have in determining the output of a neuron in response to its input? A wide range of studies is brought together, with topics ranging from general to system-specific phenomena—some having a strong experimental component, and others being fully theoretical. The studies come from many different neural systems and animal species ranging from invertebrates to mammals. With this broad focus, an overview is given of the diversity of mechanisms that dendrites can employ to shape neural computations.

A leading neurobiologist explores the fundamental function of dendritic spines in neural circuits by analyzing different aspects of their biology, including structure, development, motility, and plasticity. Most neurons in the brain are covered by dendritic spines, small protrusions that arise from dendrites, covering them like leaves on a tree. But a hundred and twenty years after spines were first described by Ramón y Cajal, their function is still unclear. Dozens of different functions have been proposed, from Cajal's idea that they enhance neuronal interconnectivity to hypotheses that spines serve as plasticity machines, neuroprotective devices, or even digital logic elements. In Dendritic Spines, leading neurobiologist Rafael Yuste attempts to solve the “spine problem,” searching for the fundamental function of spines. He does this by examining many aspects of spine biology that have fascinated him over the years, including their structure, development, motility, plasticity, biophysical properties, and calcium compartmentalization. Yuste argues that we may never understand how the brain works without understanding the specific function of spines. In this book, he offers a synthesis of the information that has been gathered on spines (much of which comes from his own studies of the mammalian cortex), linking their function with the computational logic of the neuronal circuits that use them. He argues that once viewed from the circuit perspective, all the pieces of the spine puzzle fit together nicely into a single, overarching function. Yuste connects these two topics, integrating current knowledge of spines with that of key features of the circuits in which they operate. He concludes with a speculative chapter on the computational function of spines, searching for the ultimate logic of their existence in the brain and offering a proposal that is sure to stimulate discussions and drive future research.

The transmission of the nervous impulse is always from the dendritic branches and the cell body to the axon or functional process. Every neuron, then, possesses a receptor apparatus, the body and the dendritic prolongations, an apparatus of emission, the axon, and the apparatus of distribution, the terminal arborization of the nerve fibers. I designated the foregoing principle: the theory of dynamic polarization (Cajal 1923). Ever since the beautiful drawings from Golgi and Cajal, we have been familiar with the organisation of neurones into dendritic, somatic and axonal compartments. Cajal proposed that these cellular compartments were specialised, resulting in his concept of ^dynamic polarisation'. He considered dendrites to be passive elements that simply transferred information from inputs to the soma. Since the discovery that dendrites of many neural populations release neuroactive substances and in doing so, alter neuronal output, it is now apparent that this theory requires qualification. This book presents recent developments in the neurophysiology of dendritic release of several chemical classes of transmitters in a number of different areas of the mammalian central nervous system. Once released from a neuron, these substances can act as neurotransmitters and/or neuromodulators, to autoregulate the original neuron, its synaptic inputs, and adjacent cells or, by volume transmission, to affect distant cells. In some systems, dendritic transmitter release is part independent of secretion from axon terminal signifying a selective control of the dendritic compartment.