Neurovegetative Transmission Mechanisms

As a former president of the International Society for Neuro vegetative Research and as a co-editor it is a pleasure to write a short introduction to the present volume which contains the proceedings of an international symposium, held at Tihany, Hungary, June 19-24, 1972, under the auspices of the Society mentioned above. The meeting, which was organized by Professor B. Csillik, Szeged, Hungary, who also acted as president, took place at the Tihany Biological Institute, most beautifully situated at lake Balaton. Such international symposia of the International Society for Neurovegetative Research have been organized at irregular intervals in several different countries. Members of the International Society are, automatically, the members of National Societies for Neuro vegetative Research, active in some European countries and in Japan, as well as individuals taking interest in the aim of the International Society. From its foundation, in 1953, on the goal of the Society has always been the advancement of neurovegetative research as per formed by both, workers in the basic sciences and medical prac titioners doing scientific work. Therefore, symposia of the Inter national Society for Neurovegetative Reseanh are international forums where pure scientific work as well as clinical investigations and clinical experience can be discussed. In this way, the Society has always been trying to bridge the gap between pure and applied science in the medical field which is so often felt to exist, especially at the present time often suffering from overspecialization.

First multi-year cumulation covers six years: 1965-70.

The nervous system is particularly fascinating for many biologists because it controls animal characteristics such as movement, behavior, and coordinated thinking. Invertebrate neurobiology has traditionally been studied in specific model organisms, whilst knowledge of the broad diversity of nervous system architecture and its evolution among metazoan animals has received less attention. This is the first major reference work in the field for 50 years, bringing together many leading evolutionary neurobiologists to review the most recent research on the structure of invertebrate nervous systems and provide a comprehensive and authoritative overview for a new generation of researchers. Presented in full colour throughout, Structure and Evolution of Invertebrate Nervous Systems synthesizes and illustrates the numerous new findings that have been made possible with light and electron microscopy. These include the recent introduction of new molecular and optical techniques such as immunohistochemical staining of neuron-specific antigens and fluorescence in-situ-hybridization, combined with visualization by confocal laser scanning microscopy. New approaches to analysing the structure of the nervous system are also included such as micro-computational tomography, cryo-soft X-ray tomography, and various 3-D visualization techniques. The book follows a systematic and phylogenetic structure, covering a broad range of taxa, interspersed with chapters focusing on selected topics in nervous system functioning which are presented as research highlights and perspectives. This comprehensive reference work will be an essential companion for graduate students and researchers alike in the fields of metazoan neurobiology, morphology, zoology, phylogeny and evolution.

International Review of Neurobiology