These published proceedings of a Neurosciences Research Program Colloquium do not deal exhaustively with particular cortical issues—rather, they convey the highlights of the topic, beginning with a series of presentations on the ontogenetic and morphogenetic development of the cerebral cortex followed by a systematic view of the remarkable explosion during the last decade of our knowledge of the cellular organization and connectively of the cortex. All of the topics in the book are put into perspective in an opening keynote by W. Maxwell Cowan. He there observes that theoretical constructs (or the lack of them) are the weakest aspect of neurobiology at the moment. Thus the book's final section (with contributions by three Nobel laureates—Francis Crick, Gerald Edelman, and Leon Cooper—among others) is a meaningful new effort toward redressing the balance.

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."

This elegant book presents current evidence on the organization of the mammalian cerebral cortex. The focus on synapses and their function provides the basis for understanding how this critical part of the brain could work. Dr. White and his colleague Dr. Keller have collated an impressive mass of material. This makes the crucial information accessible and coherent. Dr. White pioneered an area of investigation that to most others, and occasionally to himself, seemed a bottomless pit of painstaking at tention to detail for the identification and enumeration of cortical syn apses. I do not recall that he or anyone else suspected, when he began to publish his now classic papers, that the work would be central to an accelerating convergence of information and ideas from neurobiology and computer science, especially artificial intelligence (AI) (Rumelhart and McClelland, 1986). The brain is the principal organ responsible for the adaptive capacities of animals. What has impressed students of biology, of medicine, and, to an extent, of philosophy is the correlation between the prominence of the cerebral cortex and the adaptive "complexity" of a particular spe cies. Most agree that the cortex is what sets Homo sapiens apart from other species quantitatively and qualitatively (Rakic, 1988). This is summarized in the first chapter.

Originally published in German and French, the work is considered to be unsurpassed in both its scientific eloquence and accurate photographic documentation. Revising Brodmann's cortical parcellation system, von Economo took cytoarchitectonics to a new zenith.>The revised edition contains newly compiled tables with extensive quantitative data on the 107 cytoarchitectonic areas of Economo and Koskinas, plus all the 'transition' areas and full reproductions of the original microphotographs. It also contains the concluding chapter that appeared only in the 1929 English edition, with Economo's later views on cytoarchitectonic neuropathology and evolutionary neuroscience, enriched with material and figures from his later studies. Last but not least a newly discovered manuscript by Georg N. Koskinas, appears in English for the first time. In it, Economo's collaborator presents an insightful analysis of the 'General Part' of their larger textbook of cytoarchitectonics.

This unique book provides a new view of the organization of the cerebral cortex. It explores the underlying principle of the organization of the cerebral cortex using the dual nature of the origin of the cerebral cortex. Cerebral Cortex provides a different way of understanding the current behavioral studies, neuroimaging observations, and promises a new approach to future studies.

This is the third edition of the translation, by Laurence Garey, of "Vergleichende Lokalisationslehre der Grosshirnrinde" by Korbinian Brodmann, originally published by Barth-Verlag in Leipzig in 1909. It is one of the major "classics" of the neurological world. Even today it forms the basis for so-called "localisation" of function in the cerebral cortex. Brodmann's "areas" are still used to designate functional regions in the cortex, the part of the brain that brings the world that surrounds us into consciousness, and which governs our responses to the world. For example, we use "area 4" for the "motor" cortex, with which we control our muscles, "area 17" for "visual" cortex, with which we see, and so on. This nomenclature is used by neurologists and neurosurgeons in the human context, as well as by experimentalists in various animals. Indeed, Brodmann's famous "maps" of the cerebral cortex of humans, monkeys and other mammals must be among the most commonly reproduced figures in neurobiological publishing. The most famous of all is that of the human brain. There can be few textbooks of neurology, neurophysiology or neuroanatomy in which Brodmann is not cited, and his concepts pervade most research publications on systematic neurobiology. In spite of this, few people have ever seen a copy of the 1909 monograph, and even fewer have actually read it! There had never been a complete English translation available until the first edition of the present translation of 1994, and the original book had been almost unavailable for 50 years or more, the few antiquarian copies still around commanding high prices. As Laurence Garey, too, used Brodmann’s findings and maps in his neurobiological work, and had the good fortune to have access to a copy of the book, he decided to read the complete text and soon discovered that this was much more than just a report of laboratory findings of a turn-of-the-twentieth-century neurologist. It was an account of neurobiological thinking at that time, covering aspects of comparative neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuropathology, as well as giving a fascinating insight into the complex relationships between European neurologists during the momentous times when the neuron theory was still new.

This book reviews recent progress in cortical development research, focusing on the mechanisms of neural stem cell regulation, neuronal diversity and connectivity formation, and neocortical organization. Development of the cerebral cortex, the center for higher brain functions such as cognition, memory, and decision making, is one of the major targets of current research. The cerebral cortex is divided into many areas, including motor, sensory, and visual cortices, each of which consists of six layers containing a variety of neurons with different activities and connections. As this book explains, such diversity in neuronal types and connections is generated at various levels. First, neural stem cells change their competency over time, giving sequential rise to distinct types of neurons and glial cells: initially deep layer neurons, then superficial layer neurons, and lastly astrocytes. The activities and connections of neurons are further modulated via interactions with other brain regions, such as the thalamocortical circuit, and via input from the environment. This book on cortical development is essential reading for students, postdocs, and neurobiologists.

This book has brought together leading investigators who work in the new arena of brain connectomics. This includes ‘macro-connectome’ efforts to comprehensively chart long-distance pathways and functional networks; ‘micro-connectome’ efforts to identify every neuron, axon, dendrite, synapse, and glial process within restricted brain regions; and ‘meso-connectome’ efforts to systematically map both local and long-distance connections using anatomical tracers. This book highlights cutting-edge methods that can accelerate progress in elucidating static ‘hard-wired’ circuits of the brain as well as dynamic interactions that are vital for brain function. The power of connectomic approaches in characterizing abnormal circuits in the many brain disorders that afflict humankind is considered. Experts in computational neuroscience and network theory provide perspectives needed for synthesizing across different scales in space and time. Altogether, this book provides an integrated view of the challenges and opportunities in deciphering brain circuits in health and disease.

This e-book will review special features of the cerebral circulation and how they contribute to the physiology of the brain. It describes structural and functional properties of the cerebral circulation that are unique to the brain, an organ with high metabolic demands and the need for tight water and ion homeostasis. Autoregulation is pronounced in the brain, with myogenic, metabolic and neurogenic mechanisms contributing to maintain relatively constant blood flow during both increases and decreases in pressure. In addition, unlike peripheral organs where the majority of vascular resistance resides in small arteries and arterioles, large extracranial and intracranial arteries contribute significantly to vascular resistance in the brain. The prominent role of large arteries in cerebrovascular resistance helps maintain blood flow and protect downstream vessels during changes in perfusion pressure. The cerebral endothelium is also unique in that its barrier properties are in some way more like epithelium than endothelium in the periphery. The cerebral endothelium, known as the blood-brain barrier, has specialized tight junctions that do not allow ions to pass freely and has very low hydraulic conductivity and transcellular transport. This special configuration modifies Starling's forces in the brain microcirculation such that ions retained in the vascular lumen oppose water movement due to hydrostatic pressure. Tight water regulation is necessary in the brain because it has limited capacity for expansion within the skull. Increased intracranial pressure due to vasogenic edema can cause severe neurologic complications and death.

The Parietal Lobe, Volume 151, the latest release from the Handbook of Clinical Neurology series, provides a foundation on the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and clinical neurology/neuropsychology of the parietal lobe that is not only applicable to both basic researchers and clinicians, but also to students and specialists who are interested in learning more about disorders brought on by damage or dysfunction. Topics encompass the evolution, anatomy, connections, and neurophysiology, the major neurological and neuropsychological deficits and syndromes caused by damage, the potential for improvement via transcranial stimulation, and the role of the parietal in the cerebral networks for perception and action. - Provides a broad overview of the neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and clinical neurology of this region of the cortex - Offers additional insights regarding the role of the parietal in the cerebral networks for perception and action - Addresses the most frequent complications associated with damage, including somatosensory, perceptual, language, and memory, deficits, pain, optic ataxia, spatial neglect, apraxia, and more - Edited work with chapters authored by global leaders in the field - Presents the broadest, most expert coverage available