The Major Discoveries of Cajal and His Disciples: Consolidated Milestones for the Neuroscience of the XXIst Century

The Major Discoveries of Cajal and His Disciples: Consolidated Milestones for the Neuroscience of the XXIst Century PDF Author: Fernando de Castro
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 288945066X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
When Santiago Ramón y Cajal started to unravel the fine structure of the nervous system in the last decades of the XIXth century maybe only his unbeatable soul of brave Spaniard imagined that most of the descriptions were scientific truths that lasted to date. Simple histological stainings, curiosity to ameliorate these, monocular microscopes, patience for drawing his observations and a rich imaginative open mind: this is the recipy for Cajal success. His descriptions of connectivity in the nervous system, compiled in Cajal's opus magna published in 1904 ("Textura del sistema nervioso del hombre y los vertebrados") and 1911 ("Histologie du systeme nerveux"), have been corroborated by modern techniques decade after decade. Even more, the main hypothesis that Cajal raised are universally recognised as biological laws, today: the neuron theory, the law on the dynamic polarization of the neuron and the chemotropic hypothesis. That is: the nervous system is not a sincitial network but is formed by individual cells; the transmission of the nerve impulses follow a main direction within a given neuron; the axons are guided by chemical substances in a chemotropic way, till form synapses with their targets. Attracted by Cajal's strong personality and scientific success, a number of medical students and doctors join him in the crusade to explore the nervous system. And the seed planted by the universal savant was really successful: Francisco Tello described interesting aspects of the regeneration of peripheral nerves which are very useful for neuroscientist currently working in this topic; Nicolás Achúcarro significantly contributed to study neuroglia and future microglia; Pío del Río-Hortega identified two out of the four main nervous cell types, the oligodendrocytes and microglia, and proposed an almost still valid classification for the CNS tumours; Fernando de Castro made was the first description of arterial chemoreceptors in the carotid body; Rafael Lorente de Nó was a dominant figure of Neuroscience for decades after the IInd World War, first describing the columnar organization of the cerebral cortex well before Mountcastle, Hubbel and Wiesel. Even less recognised co-workers and disciples of Cajal (his brother Pedro Ramón y Cajal, Domingo Sánchez, the neurologist Rodríguez-Lafora... protagonised discoveries that are consolidated scientific truths today). Altogether, it is difficult (if not impossible) to find a school in biology contributing in such a fundamental and variated way to the common acervo like the collectively known as Cajal School or Spanish Neurological School. Although the particular way to work of the Maestro, selecting a pleiade of brilliant collaborators with whom accomplish such a titanic feat, giving them freedom for their studies, has been recognised and confronted to antagonic systems followed by other relevant scientists and scientific schools, the general recognition of such a significant major milestones for Neuroscience and their vigency in the well-marched XXIst century is not: this is the purpose of this Ebook, to remind all these examples of how successful can be the scientific work when it is minutious, constant and performed by brilliant, imaginative and skilled scientists with a minimal conditions supporting their efforts.

Neural Networks

Neural Networks PDF Author: Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
ISBN: 1452970491
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
A critical examination of the figure of the neural network as it mediates neuroscientific and computational discourses and technical practices Neural Networks proposes to reconstruct situated practices, social histories, mediating techniques, and ontological assumptions that inform the computational project of the same name. If so-called machine learning comprises a statistical approach to pattern extraction, then neural networks can be defined as a biologically inspired model that relies on probabilistically weighted neuron-like units to identify such patterns. Far from signaling the ultimate convergence of human and machine intelligence, however, neural networks highlight the technologization of neurophysiology that characterizes virtually all strands of neuroscientific and AI research of the past century. Taking this traffic as its starting point, this volume explores how cognition came to be constructed as essentially computational in nature, to the point of underwriting a technologized view of human biology, psychology, and sociability, and how countermovements provide resources for thinking otherwise.

Never-resting microglia: physiological roles in the healthy brain and pathological implications

Never-resting microglia: physiological roles in the healthy brain and pathological implications PDF Author: Amanda Sierra
Publisher: Frontiers E-books
ISBN: 2889193691
Category : Microglia
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Microglia are largely known as the major orchestrators of the brain inflammatory response. As such, they have been traditionally studied in various contexts of disease, where their activation has been assumed to induce a wide range of detrimental effects. In the last few years, a series of discoveries have challenged the current view of microglia, showing their active and positive contribution to normal brain function. This Research Topic reviewed the novel physiological roles of microglia in the developing, mature and aging brain, under non-pathological conditions. In particular, this Research Topic discussed the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which microglia contribute to the formation, pruning and plasticity of synapses; the regulation of adult neurogenesis as well as hippocampal learning and memory; among other important roles. Because these novel findings defy our understanding of microglial function in health as much as in disease, this Research Topic also summarized the current view of microglial nomenclature, phenotypes, origin and differentiation, and contribution to various brain pathologies. Additionally, novel imaging approaches and molecular tools to study microglia in their non-activated state have been discussed. In conclusion, this Research Topic seeked to emphasize how the current research in neuroscience is challenged by never-resting microglia.

The Arterial Chemoreceptors

The Arterial Chemoreceptors PDF Author: Yoshiaki Hayashida
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387313117
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
This book represents an updated review of the physiology of the carotid body chemoreceptors. It contains results in the topics at the frontiers of future developments in O2-sensing in chemoreceptor cells. Additionally, this volume provides data from studies carried out in other O2-sensing tissues including pulmonary vasculature and erythropoietin producing cells. It is a prime source of information and a guideline for arterial chemoreception researchers.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain (Second Edition)

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the Social Brain (Second Edition) PDF Author: Louis Cozolino
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393706575
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
How the brain's architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one's experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuroscientific findings. In fact, it could be argued that to be an effective psychotherapist these days it is essential to have some basic understanding of neuroscience. Louis Cozolino's The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy, Second Edition is the perfect place to start. In a beautifully written and accessible synthesis, Cozolino illustrates how the brain's architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. As the book so elegantly argues, all forms of psychotherapy--from psychoanalysis to behavioral interventions--are successful to the extent to which they enhance change in relevant neural circuits. Beginning with an overview of the intersecting fields of neuroscience and psychotherapy, this book delves into the brain's inner workings, from basic neuronal building blocks to complex systems of memory, language, and the organization of experience. It continues by explaining the development and organization of the healthy brain and the unhealthy brain. Common problems such as anxiety, trauma, and codependency are discussed from a scientific and clinical perspective. Throughout the book, the science behind the brain's working is applied to day-to-day experience and clinical practice. Written for psychotherapists and others interested in the relationship between brain and behavior, this book encourages us to consider the brain when attempting to understand human development, mental illness, and psychological health. Fully and thoroughly updated with the many neuroscientific developments that have happened in the eight years since the publication of the first edition, this revision to the bestselling book belongs on the shelf of all practitioners.

Neural Plasticity and Regeneration

Neural Plasticity and Regeneration PDF Author: F.J. Seil
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
While a cure for spinal cord injury remains elusive, the contents of this volume convey a sense of progress towards this goal. More has been learned about the primary and secondary consequences of spinal cord injury and more is being understood about recovery mechanisms that are intrinsic to the nervous system and that might be further encouraged. Expanding the control capacity of uninjured portions of the nervous system may be one approach to improving the functional capabilities of those afflicted with this disorder. New therapies in the form of transplantable cells that can encourage growth or myelination or prevent secondary damage or that can substitute for injured cells appear promising for future applications. Genetic and tissue engineering studies give us further hope, and under continuous development are novel drugs with greater specificity and fewer detrimental effects and improved delivery methods for such drugs. The volume is organized into six topic sections, including I) Strategies for Spinal Cord Injury Repair, II) Plasticity of the Injured Spinal Cord: Retraining Neural Circuits to Promote Motor Recovery, III) Impact of Neuroprosthetic Applications on Functional Recovery, IV) Neurotrophins and Activity-Dependent Plasticity, V) Candidate Cells for Transplantation into the Injured CNS and VI) New Directions in Regeneration Research. Both clinical and experimental animal studies are presented in the first three sections, while predominantly basic research is the focus of the second half of the book.

The Beautiful Brain

The Beautiful Brain PDF Author: Larry W. Swanson
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1613129947
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
At the crossroads of art and science, Beautiful Brain presents Nobel Laureate Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s contributions to neuroscience through his groundbreaking artistic brain imagery. Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934) was the father of modern neuroscience and an exceptional artist. He devoted his life to the anatomy of the brain, the body’s most complex and mysterious organ. His superhuman feats of visualization, based on fanatically precise techniques and countless hours at the microscope, resulted in some of the most remarkable illustrations in the history of science. Beautiful Brain presents a selection of his exquisite drawings of brain cells, brain regions, and neural circuits with accessible descriptive commentary. These drawings are explored from multiple perspectives: Larry W. Swanson describes Cajal’s contributions to neuroscience; Lyndel King and Eric Himmel explore his artistic roots and achievement; Eric A. Newman provides commentary on the drawings; and Janet M. Dubinsky describes contemporary neuroscience imaging techniques. This book is the companion to a traveling exhibition opening at the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis in February 2017, marking the first time that many of these works, which are housed at the Instituto Cajal in Madrid, have been seen outside of Spain. Beautiful Brain showcases Cajal’s contributions to neuroscience, explores his artistic roots and achievement, and looks at his work in relation to contemporary neuroscience imaging, appealing to general readers and professionals alike.

The Shallows

The Shallows PDF Author: Nicholas Carr
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781838952587
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The 10th-anniversary edition of this landmark investigation into how the Internet is dramatically changing how we think, remember and interact, with a new afterword.

Psychology

Psychology PDF Author: Miles Hewstone
Publisher: BPS Blackwell
ISBN: 9780631206781
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 580

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Book Description
Psychology, published in association with the British Psychological Society, is the definitive introductory textbook for students starting their study of psychology. written with style and authority by more than 20 leading psychologists from the UK and Australasia, in association with our editorial team; contains comprehensive and integrated coverage of all the major topics in first-year undergraduate psychology; also provides extensive treatment of cutting-edge applied areas such as health, organizational and forensic psychology; each chapter helps students to understand psychology on their own terms: 'Research Close-ups' bring research to life via snapshot case studies; 'Everyday Psychology' boxes apply real-life contexts to the basic principles; includes a host of additional useful features, from chapter maps, learning objectives, expert opinions and profiles of pioneering psychologists in each subfield, to chapter summaries, revision questions, suggestions for further reading and a glossary; supported by an interactive website containing a multiple choice testbank, essay questions, practice questions, downloadable figures and tables, electronic chapters and lecture-by-lecture instructor support. Visit www.bpsblackwell.co.uk/hewstone for more information.

Cajal and De Castro's Neurohistological Methods

Cajal and De Castro's Neurohistological Methods PDF Author: Miguel A. Merchán
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190221593
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Cajal and De Castro's Neurohistological Methods provides the first English translation of Fernando de Castro's 1933 publication "Elementos de T cnica Microgr fica del Sistema Nervioso." A student of the famed founder of modern neuroscience, with Santiago Ramon y Cajal also serving as the Editor of the original text, Fernando de Castro recorded all the various protocols that had been used in his laboratory by his students in order to provide a manual of histological procedures specifically designed for the fine structure of the nervous system. This renowned text is virtually unknown in its original form outside the Spanish-speaking world. In a text that reads like a mix between a recipe book and an alchemical manuscript, authors Miguel Merchan, Javier DeFelipe, and Fernando de Castro (descendant of the 1933 publication's author) put the new translation into historical context. This book is also beautifully illustrated with plates of histological techniques, provides a quick guide to new vocabulary, and the author's notes on the translated text. This pivotal work of classic neurohistological techniques is a wonderful addition to the Cajal library.