Receptors In The Evolution And Development Of The Brain

Receptors in the Evolution and Development of the Brain: Matter into Mind presents the key role of receptors and their cognate ligands in wiring the mammalian brain from an evolutionary developmental biology perspective. It examines receptor function in the evolution and development of the nervous system in the large vertebrate brain, and discusses rapid eye movement sleep and apoptosis as mechanisms to destroy miswired neurons. Possible links between trophic deficits and connectional diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS are also discussed. This book is extremely useful to those with an interest in the molecular and cellular neurosciences, including those in cognitive and clinical branches of this subject, and anyone interested in how the incredibly complex human brain can build itself. Provides an understanding of the key role receptors play in brain development and the selection process necessary to construct a large brain Traces the evolution of receptors from the most primitive organisms to humans Emphasizes the roles that REM sleep and apoptosis play in this selection via trophic factors and receptors Describes the role that trophic factor-receptor interactions play throughout life and how trophic deficits can lead to connectional diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS Provides a potential mechanism whereby neuronal stem cells can cure these diseases

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."

How we raise young children is one of today's most highly personalized and sharply politicized issues, in part because each of us can claim some level of "expertise." The debate has intensified as discoveries about our development-in the womb and in the first months and years-have reached the popular media. How can we use our burgeoning knowledge to assure the well-being of all young children, for their own sake as well as for the sake of our nation? Drawing from new findings, this book presents important conclusions about nature-versus-nurture, the impact of being born into a working family, the effect of politics on programs for children, the costs and benefits of intervention, and other issues. The committee issues a series of challenges to decision makers regarding the quality of child care, issues of racial and ethnic diversity, the integration of children's cognitive and emotional development, and more. Authoritative yet accessible, From Neurons to Neighborhoods presents the evidence about "brain wiring" and how kids learn to speak, think, and regulate their behavior. It examines the effect of the climate-family, child care, community-within which the child grows.

Development and Evolution of Brain Size: Behavioral Implications contains the proceedings of a symposium entitled ""Development and Evolution of Brain Size: Behavioral Implications,"" held at William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey, in April 1978. The papers explore the relationship between evolution and development and its implications for brain size and behavior. This book is comprised of 18 chapters and begins with an overview of the brain-behavior relationship, with emphasis on the importance of brain size for behavior; the effects of genetic selection for brain size on brain substructures and behavior; and whether genetic and environmental manipulations of brain size have similar consequences. The next two chapters explain evolutionary theory and the evolution of the human brain as well as diversity in brain size. A general model for brain evolution that offers some synthetic possibilities for approaching the questions of brain evolution, size, allometry, and reorganization is then described. The correlation between cerebral indices and behavioral differences is also discussed, along with biochemical correlates of selective breeding for brain size. The results of an experiment that assessed the effects of early undernutrition on brain and behavior of developing mice are presented. This monograph should be of interest to students and practitioners in a wide range of disciplines, including evolutionary biology and clinical psychology.

Receptors in the Evolution and Development of the Brain: Matter into Mind presents the key role of receptors and their cognate ligands in wiring the mammalian brain from an evolutionary developmental biology perspective. It examines receptor function in the evolution and development of the nervous system in the large vertebrate brain, and discusses rapid eye movement sleep and apoptosis as mechanisms to destroy miswired neurons. Possible links between trophic deficits and connectional diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS are also discussed. This book is extremely useful to those with an interest in the molecular and cellular neurosciences, including those in cognitive and clinical branches of this subject, and anyone interested in how the incredibly complex human brain can build itself. Provides an understanding of the key role receptors play in brain development and the selection process necessary to construct a large brain Traces the evolution of receptors from the most primitive organisms to humans Emphasizes the roles that REM sleep and apoptosis play in this selection via trophic factors and receptors Describes the role that trophic factor-receptor interactions play throughout life and how trophic deficits can lead to connectional diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS Provides a potential mechanism whereby neuronal stem cells can cure these diseases

An introduction to the brain's anatomical organization and functions with explanations in terms of evolutionary adaptations and development. This introduction to the structure of the central nervous system demonstrates that the best way to learn how the brain is put together is to understand something about why. It explains why the brain is put together as it is by describing basic functions and key aspects of its evolution and development. This approach makes the structure of the brain and spinal cord more comprehensible as well as more interesting and memorable. The book offers a detailed outline of the neuroanatomy of vertebrates, especially mammals, that equips students for further explorations of the field. Gaining familiarity with neuroanatomy requires multiple exposures to the material with many incremental additions and reviews. Thus the early chapters of this book tell the story of the brain's origins in a first run-through of the entire system; this is followed by other such surveys in succeeding chapters, each from a different angle. The book proceeds from basic aspects of nerve cells and their physiology to the evolutionary beginnings of the nervous system to differentiation and development, motor and sensory systems, and the structure and function of the main parts of the brain. Along the way, it makes enlightening connections to evolutionary history and individual development. Brain Structure and Its Origins can be used for advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate classes in neuroscience, biology, psychology, and related fields, or as a reference for researchers and others who want to know more about the brain.

Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy Evolution and Adaptation Second Edition Ann B. Butler and William Hodos The Second Edition of this landmark text presents a broad survey of comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy at the introductory level, representing a unique contribution to the field of evolutionary neurobiology. It has been extensively revised and updated, with substantially improved figures and diagrams that are used generously throughout the text. Through analysis of the variation in brain structure and function between major groups of vertebrates, readers can gain insight into the evolutionary history of the nervous system. The text is divided into three sections: * Introduction to evolution and variation, including a survey of cell structure, embryological development, and anatomical organization of the central nervous system; phylogeny and diversity of brain structures; and an overview of various theories of brain evolution * Systematic, comprehensive survey of comparative neuroanatomy across all major groups of vertebrates * Overview of vertebrate brain evolution, which integrates the complete text, highlights diversity and common themes, broadens perspective by a comparison with brain structure and evolution of invertebrate brains, and considers recent data and theories of the evolutionary origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates, including a recently proposed model of the origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates that has received strong support from newly discovered fossil evidence Ample material drawn from the latest research has been integrated into the text and highlighted in special feature boxes, including recent views on homology, cranial nerve organization and evolution, the relatively large and elaborate brains of birds in correlation with their complex cognitive abilities, and the current debate on forebrain evolution across reptiles, birds, and mammals. Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy is geared to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in neuroanatomy, but anyone interested in the anatomy of the nervous system and how it corresponds to the way that animals function in the world will find this text fascinating.

You've probably seen it before: a human brain dramatically lit from the side, the camera circling it like a helicopter shot of Stonehenge, and a modulated baritone voice exalting the brain's elegant design in reverent tones. To which this book says: Pure nonsense. In a work at once deeply learned and wonderfully accessible, the neuroscientist David Linden counters the widespread assumption that the brain is a paragon of design--and in its place gives us a compelling explanation of how the brain's serendipitous evolution has resulted in nothing short of our humanity. A guide to the strange and often illogical world of neural function, The Accidental Mind shows how the brain is not an optimized, general-purpose problem-solving machine, but rather a weird agglomeration of ad-hoc solutions that have been piled on through millions of years of evolutionary history. Moreover, Linden tells us how the constraints of evolved brain design have ultimately led to almost every transcendent human foible: our long childhoods, our extensive memory capacity, our search for love and long-term relationships, our need to create compelling narrative, and, ultimately, the universal cultural impulse to create both religious and scientific explanations. With forays into evolutionary biology, this analysis of mental function answers some of our most common questions about how we've come to be who we are.