Glial Man

Glial Man PDF Author: Yves Agid
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019884767X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Understanding glial cells is key to explaining human movement, emotion, and thoughts. This book provides many examples of the decisive role glial cells play in the functioning of the human brain, as well as in neurological and psychiatric pathologies.

Glial Man

Glial Man PDF Author: Yves Agid
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 019884767X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
Understanding glial cells is key to explaining human movement, emotion, and thoughts. This book provides many examples of the decisive role glial cells play in the functioning of the human brain, as well as in neurological and psychiatric pathologies.

The Root of Thought

The Root of Thought PDF Author: Andrew Koob
Publisher: FT Press
ISBN: 013800627X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
Until recently, neuroscientists thought glial cells did little more than hold your brain together. But in the past few years, they've discovered that glial cells are extraordinarily important. In fact, they may hold the key to understanding intelligence, treating psychiatric disorders and brain injuries and perhaps even curing fatal conditions like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's Disease. In The Root of Thought, leading neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Koob reveals what we've learned about these remarkable cells, from their unexpected role in information storage to their function as adult stem cells that can keep your brain growing and adapting longer than scientists ever imagined possible. Ranging from fruit flies to Einstein, Koob reveals the surprising correlation between intelligence and the brain's percentage of glial cells - and why these cells' unique wavelike communications may be especially conducive to the fluid information processing human beings depend upon. You'll learn how crucial glial cells grow and develop... why almost all brain tumors are comprised of glial cells and the potential implications for treatment... even the apparent role of glial cells in your every thought and dream!

The Other Brain

The Other Brain PDF Author: R. Douglas Fields
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1439160430
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 629

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Book Description
Despite everything that has been written about the brain, a potentially critical part of this vital organ has been overlooked—until now. The Other Brain examines the growing importance of glia, which make up approximately 85 percent of the cells in the brain, and the role they play in how the brain functions, malfunctions, and heals itself. Long neglected as little more than cerebral packing material, glia (meaning “glue”) are now known to regulate the flow of information between neurons and to repair the brain and spinal cord after injury and stroke. But scientists are also discovering that diseased and damaged glia play a significant role in psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression, and in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Diseased glia cause brain cancer and multiple sclerosis and are linked to infectious diseases such as HIV and prion disease (mad cow disease, for example) and to chronic pain. The more we learn about these cells that make up the “other” brain, the more important they seem to be. Written by a neuroscientist who is a leader in glial research, The Other Brain gives readers a much more complete understanding of how the brain works and an intriguing look at potentially revolutionary developments in brain science and medicine.

Enteric Glia

Enteric Glia PDF Author: Brian D. Gulbransen
Publisher: Biota Publishing
ISBN: 1615046615
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Book Description
The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a complex neural network embedded in the gut wall that orchestrates the reflex behaviors of the intestine. The ENS is often referred to as the “little brain” in the gut because the ENS is more similar in size, complexity and autonomy to the central nervous system (CNS) than other components of the autonomic nervous system. Like the brain, the ENS is composed of neurons that are surrounded by glial cells. Enteric glia are a unique type of peripheral glia that are similar to astrocytes of the CNS. Yet enteric glial cells also differ from astrocytes in many important ways. The roles of enteric glial cell populations in the gut are beginning to come to light and recent evidence implicates enteric glia in almost every aspect of gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology. However, elucidating the exact mechanisms by which enteric glia influence gastrointestinal physiology and identifying how those roles are altered during gastrointestinal pathophysiology remain areas of intense research. The purpose of this e-book is to provide an introduction to enteric glial cells and to act as a resource for ongoing studies on this fascinating population of glia. Table of Contents: Introduction / A Historical Perspective on Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia: The Astroglia of the Gut / Molecular Composition of Enteric Glia / Development of Enteric Glia / Functional Roles of Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia and Disease Processes in the Gut / Concluding Remarks / References / Author Biography

The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist

The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist PDF Author: Ben Barres
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262039117
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford. Barres recounts his early life—his interest in science, first manifested as a fascination with the mad scientist in Superman; his academic successes; and his gender confusion. Barres felt even as a very young child that he was assigned the wrong gender. After years of being acutely uncomfortable in his own skin, Barres transitioned from female to male. He reports he felt nothing but relief on becoming his true self. He was proud to be a role model for transgender scientists. As an undergraduate at MIT, Barres experienced discrimination, but it was after transitioning that he realized how differently male and female scientists are treated. He became an advocate for gender equality in science, and later in life responded pointedly to Larry Summers's speculation that women were innately unsuited to be scientists. Privileged white men, Barres writes, “miss the basic point that in the face of negative stereotyping, talented women will not be recognized.” At Stanford, Barres made important discoveries about glia, the most numerous cells in the brain, and he describes some of his work. “The most rewarding part of his job,” however, was mentoring young scientists. That, and his advocacy for women and transgender scientists, ensures his legacy.

The Role of Glia in Neurotoxicity

The Role of Glia in Neurotoxicity PDF Author: Michael Aschner
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780849347924
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
It is well established that glial cells represent more than mere passive cytoskeletal support elements of the central and peripheral nervous system. A reciprocal relationship exists between neurons and glia that is vital for mutual differentiation, development, and functioning of both cell types. It also has become apparent that perturbations in glial function may lead to deleterious consequences in juxtaposed neurons. It is therefore possible that neuronal damage induced by chemicals or neuropathic disease involves dissociation of glial-neuronal interactions. The Role of Glia in Neurotoxicity brings together experts in the neurosciences to provide a more complete understanding of the effects of chemicals on nervous system function. This book explores potential sites of glial-neuronal interactions both in the central and peripheral nervous system, focusing on potential sites of neurotoxicant actions. Text introduces basic aspects of neuroscience, the first step toward understanding the mechanisms at work in normal physiology. The ways in which these processes are disturbed in pathological conditions are discussed. Distinguished authors examine the functional interactions between glial cells and neurons during development, adulthood, and senescence. The roles of glia in the normal CNS and PNS are described. The book offers specific, in-depth examples of directly (via diffusive and cell surface signals) or indirectly (via effects on the extracellular fluid or the blood-brain barrier) mediated glial neurotoxicity. This reference includes different techniques, conceptual frameworks, and approaches that are currently used in the study of the role of glia in neurotoxicity. This timely review not only presents an excellent overview of the state of the science but also provides direction for future research into the consequences of an altered glial-neuronal unit.

Environmental Health Perspectives

Environmental Health Perspectives PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Environmental health
Languages : en
Pages : 1130

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Book Description


Cerebellar Dentate Nucleus

Cerebellar Dentate Nucleus PDF Author: V. Chan-Palay
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3642664989
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 569

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Book Description
Recent physiologic investigations have shown that the deep cerebellar nuclei may play an important role in the initiation and monitoring of skilled move ments. Much of this physiologic work has been carried out in the absence of a secure foundation in neuroanatomical information. Although the main sources of the afferent fibers and the major terminations of the efferent fibers related to these nuclei have been known for many years, remarkably little information about the organization of the nuclei themselves has been collected. The kinds of nerve cells, their arrangement within the nuclei, the patterns of their dendritic arborizations, the distribution of incoming fibers among the neurons, the relationship between the outgoing nerve fibers and the nerve cells from which they originate - these and many other morphologic features were either unknown or only superficially explored. In fact, so little was known about the deep cerebellar nuclei when I began to work on this subject that the investigations reported here are virtually without antecedents, a refreshing change from the cerebellar cortex which has been repeatedly and exhaustively surveyed. My studies on the cerebellar nuclei began in the spring of 1972. They were initiated with the intent of applying the principles of analysis that had been developed for the cerebellar cortex to a different but related part of the brain.

Duality and Unity of the Brain

Duality and Unity of the Brain PDF Author: David Ottoson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349089400
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description


Role of Glial Cells of the Central and Peripheral Nervous System in the Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Disorders

Role of Glial Cells of the Central and Peripheral Nervous System in the Pathogenesis of Neurodegenerative Disorders PDF Author: Guanghui Wang
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 288976236X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description