Cerebral And Cerebellar Cortex

Cerebral and Cerebellar Cortex – Interaction and Dynamics in Health and Disease discusses several important issues of cerebro-cerebellar collaboration and interactions. The morphological and functional study of the cerebral and cerebellar cortices and their interaction has considerable value for interpreting the clinical phenomenology of cortical degenerations in the initial stage of the disease. In addition, the analysis of cerebro-cerebellar interactions strongly supports the concept of the close functional unity and harmonization of the brain and the cerebellum, underlining the important role that the cerebellar cortex plays in the performance of higher mental faculties, creativity, emotional processes, and homeostatic equilibrium of the human body.

Based on the 75th Fujihara Seminar held in December 2018 in Tokyo, Japan, this volume explores the latest research on the cerebellum. Contributors seek to examine the cerebellum's role as a unique hub for brain activity and discover new information about its purpose. The discussion is broad, ranging from evolutionary topics to therapeutic strategy and addresses both physiology and pathology. Subjects covered include anatomy, information processing, complex spikes, plasticity, modeling, and spinocerebellar ataxias. The volume is intended to set the stage for the future of cerebellar research and guide both basic and clinical researchers.

Accumulating evidence suggests that the cerebellum subserves functions beyond the sensorimotor realm. This possibility has received considerable attention during the past quarter century, with recent findings revealing putative cerebellar roles in cognition, emotion and spatial navigation. These functions are potentially underpinned by the behaviour-dependent formation of functional networks in which the cerebellum forms one node of distributed circuits spanning thalamic, limbic and neocortical regions. However, these views are not universally accepted. Therefore, the over-arching aim of this Research Topic was to provide a forum through which the debate on the role of cerebellar interactions with motor and "non-motor" structures can be pursued in a rigorous manner. In particular, we aimed to bring together findings from the clinical, animal, theoretical and neuroimaging fields.

During the last three decades, many laboratories worldwide have dedicated their research activities to understanding the roles of the cerebellum in motor control, cognitive processes and the biology of mental processes, behavioral symptoms and emotion. These advances have been associated with discoveries of new clinical disorders, in particular in the field of genetic ataxias, and the growing number of diseases presents a source of difficulty for clinicians during daily practice. This practical guide summarizes and evaluates current knowledge in the field of cerebellar disorders. Encompassing details of both common and uncommon cerebellar ataxias, including vascular, immune, neoplastic, infectious, traumatic, toxic and inherited disorders, this book will assist clinicians in the diagnosis and management of the full spectrum of cerebellar ataxias encountered in daily practice. Essential reading for clinicians, including general practitioners, neurologists, pediatricians, radiologists, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists, this will also prove a valuable tool for students, trainees and researchers.

David Courtnay Marr was born on January 19, 1945 in Essex, England. He went to the English public school, Rugby, on scholarship and between 1963 and 1966 studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge University where he obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees. Rather than pursue a Ph. D. in math ematics he preferred to switch to neurophysiology under Giles Brindley. His education involved training in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Marr's Ph. D. work resulted in a theory of the cerebel lar cortex, the essence of which became "A Theory of the Cerebellar Cortex," reproduced in Chapter 1 of this volume with a commentary by Thomas Thach. He wrote a short paper subsequently with Stephen Blomfield, "How the Cere bellum May Be Used," (Chapter 2 in this volume with commentary by Jack Cowan). After obtaining his Ph. D., David Marr accepted an appointment to the scientific staff of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge in the division of Cell Biology under Sydney Brenner and Francis Crick. Two other major studies, "Simple Memory: A Theory of the Archicortex" (Chapter 3 in this volume, commented on by Bruce McNaughton and David Willshaw) and "A Theory for Cerebral Neocortex" (Chapter 4 in this volume and commented on by Jack Cowan) followed the cerebellum study.

The Cerebellum and Cognition pulls together a preeminent group of authors. The cerebellum has been previously considered as a highly complex structure involved only with motor control. The cerebellum is essential to nonmotor functions, and recent research has revealed new medically important roles of the cerebellum and cognitive processes. Selected for inclusion in Doody's Core Titles 2013, an essential collection development tool for health sciences libraries Comprehensive coverage of cerebellum in motor control and cognition New developments regarding the cerebellum and motor systems Therapeutic implications of cerebellar contributions to cognition Preeminent group of contributors