Download or read book Discovering the Brain written by National Academy of Sciences and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1992-01-01 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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."
Download or read book From Neurons to Neighborhoods written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-11-13 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Mapping the Brain and Its Functions written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1991-02-01 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Significant advances in brain research have been made, but investigators who face the resulting explosion of data need new methods to integrate the pieces of the "brain puzzle." Based on the expertise of more than 100 neuroscientists and computer specialists, this new volume examines how computer technology can meet that need. Featuring outstanding color photography, the book presents an overview of the complexity of brain research, which covers the spectrum from human behavior to genetic mechanisms. Advances in vision, substance abuse, pain, and schizophrenia are highlighted. The committee explores the potential benefits of computer graphics, database systems, and communications networks in neuroscience and reviews the available technology. Recommendations center on a proposed Brain Mapping Initiative, with an agenda for implementation and a look at issues such as privacy and accessibility.
Download or read book How People Learn written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-08-11 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First released in the Spring of 1999, How People Learn has been expanded to show how the theories and insights from the original book can translate into actions and practice, now making a real connection between classroom activities and learning behavior. This edition includes far-reaching suggestions for research that could increase the impact that classroom teaching has on actual learning. Like the original edition, this book offers exciting new research about the mind and the brain that provides answers to a number of compelling questions. When do infants begin to learn? How do experts learn and how is this different from non-experts? What can teachers and schools do-with curricula, classroom settings, and teaching methodsâ€"to help children learn most effectively? New evidence from many branches of science has significantly added to our understanding of what it means to know, from the neural processes that occur during learning to the influence of culture on what people see and absorb. How People Learn examines these findings and their implications for what we teach, how we teach it, and how we assess what our children learn. The book uses exemplary teaching to illustrate how approaches based on what we now know result in in-depth learning. This new knowledge calls into question concepts and practices firmly entrenched in our current education system. Topics include: How learning actually changes the physical structure of the brain. How existing knowledge affects what people notice and how they learn. What the thought processes of experts tell us about how to teach. The amazing learning potential of infants. The relationship of classroom learning and everyday settings of community and workplace. Learning needs and opportunities for teachers. A realistic look at the role of technology in education.
Download or read book Brain Vision Memory written by Charles G. Gross and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999-07-26 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In these engaging tales describing the growth of knowledge about the brain—from the early Egyptians and Greeks to the Dark Ages and the Renaissance to the present time—Gross attempts to answer the question of how the discipline of neuroscience evolved into its modern incarnation through the twists and turns of history. Charles G. Gross is an experimental neuroscientist who specializes in brain mechanisms in vision. He is also fascinated by the history of his field. In these tales describing the growth of knowledge about the brain from the early Egyptians and Greeks to the present time, he attempts to answer the question of how the discipline of neuroscience evolved into its modern incarnation through the twists and turns of history. The first essay tells the story of the visual cortex, from the first written mention of the brain by the Egyptians, to the philosophical and physiological studies by the Greeks, to the Dark Ages and the Renaissance, and finally, to the modern work of Hubel and Wiesel. The second essay focuses on Leonardo da Vinci's beautiful anatomical work on the brain and the eye: was Leonardo drawing the body observed, the body remembered, the body read about, or his own dissections? The third essay derives from the question of whether there can be a solely theoretical biology or biologist; it highlights the work of Emanuel Swedenborg, the eighteenth-century Swedish mystic who was two hundred years ahead of his time. The fourth essay entails a mystery: how did the largely ignored brain structure called the "hippocampus minor" come to be, and why was it so important in the controversies that swirled about Darwin's theories? The final essay describes the discovery of the visual functions of the temporal and parietal lobes. The author traces both developments to nineteenth-century observations of the effect of temporal and parietal lesions in monkeys—observations that were forgotten and subsequently rediscovered.
Download or read book The Behavioral and Social Sciences written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1988-02-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the scientific frontiers and leading edges of research across the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, history, business, education, geography, law, and psychiatry, as well as the newer, more specialized areas of artificial intelligence, child development, cognitive science, communications, demography, linguistics, and management and decision science. It includes recommendations concerning new resources, facilities, and programs that may be needed over the next several years to ensure rapid progress and provide a high level of returns to basic research.
Download or read book The Brain and Behavior written by David L. Clark and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2005-09-08 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New edition building on the success of previous one. Retains core aim of providing an accessible introduction to behavioral neuroanatomy.
Download or read book Brodmann s written by K. Brodmann and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-02-16 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the third edition of the translation, by Laurence Garey, of "Vergleichende Lokalisationslehre der Grosshirnrinde" by Korbinian Brodmann, originally published by Barth-Verlag in Leipzig in 1909. It is one of the major "classics" of the neurological world. Even today it forms the basis for so-called "localisation" of function in the cerebral cortex. Brodmann's "areas" are still used to designate functional regions in the cortex, the part of the brain that brings the world that surrounds us into consciousness, and which governs our responses to the world. For example, we use "area 4" for the "motor" cortex, with which we control our muscles, "area 17" for "visual" cortex, with which we see, and so on. This nomenclature is used by neurologists and neurosurgeons in the human context, as well as by experimentalists in various animals. Indeed, Brodmann's famous "maps" of the cerebral cortex of humans, monkeys and other mammals must be among the most commonly reproduced figures in neurobiological publishing. The most famous of all is that of the human brain. There can be few textbooks of neurology, neurophysiology or neuroanatomy in which Brodmann is not cited, and his concepts pervade most research publications on systematic neurobiology. In spite of this, few people have ever seen a copy of the 1909 monograph, and even fewer have actually read it! There had never been a complete English translation available until the first edition of the present translation of 1994, and the original book had been almost unavailable for 50 years or more, the few antiquarian copies still around commanding high prices. As Laurence Garey, too, used Brodmann’s findings and maps in his neurobiological work, and had the good fortune to have access to a copy of the book, he decided to read the complete text and soon discovered that this was much more than just a report of laboratory findings of a turn-of-the-twentieth-century neurologist. It was an account of neurobiological thinking at that time, covering aspects of comparative neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neuropathology, as well as giving a fascinating insight into the complex relationships between European neurologists during the momentous times when the neuron theory was still new.
Download or read book Biology Conservation and Sustainable Development of Sturgeons written by Ramón Carmona and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-11-09 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sturgeons are considered “living fossils”, sharing many morphological and biological features with ancestral fish. Furthermore, sturgeons are of the utmost interest from an economic perspective, not only for the caviar but for the flesh. However, the wild populations of the majority of the species are at serious risk of extinction all over the world. So, it is urgent to develop strategies for both farming culture and conservation and recovery in natural habitats. This book provides a comprehensive view of the biology and sustainable development of sturgeons putting emphasis on the Southern Europe autochthonous species such as Acipenser nacarii and Acipenser sturio that share geographical distribution. Other relevant species (such as Huso huso, A. oxyrhinchus, A. ruthenus, A. stellatus) and areas (Germany, Russia, North America) are also considered. The contents are organised in three sections: Taxonomy and Biogeography (including the morphological and genetic analyses that clarify the taxonomy and phylogeny of sturgeons, focused on those from Southern Europe), Biology and Aquaculture (where several aspects of the developmental biology, feeding, and reproduction are considered in relation to the improvement of sturgeon farming), and Recovery and Conservation (that collates and analyses different recovery research actions, the ecology of the rivers for restoration as well as the problems related to the trade of caviar).
Download or read book The Beautiful Brain written by Larry W. Swanson and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2017-01-17 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book In Vivo Optical Imaging of Brain Function Second Edition written by Ron D. Frostig and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2009-05-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These are exciting times for the field of optical imaging of brain function. Rapid developments in theory and technology continue to considerably advance understanding of brain function. Reflecting changes in the field during the past five years, the second edition of In Vivo Optical Imaging of Brain Function describes state-of-the-art techniques and their applications for the growing field of functional imaging in the live brain using optical imaging techniques. New in the Second Edition: Voltage-sensitive dyes imaging in awake behaving animals Imaging based on genetically encoded probes Imaging of mitochondrial auto-fluorescence as a tool for cortical mapping Using pH-sensitive dyes for functional mapping Modulated imaging Calcium imaging of neuronal activity using 2-photon microscopy Fourier approach to optical imaging Fully updated chapters from the first edition Leading Authorities Explore the Latest Techniques Updated to reflect continuous development in this emerging research area, this new edition, as with the original, reaches across disciplines to review a variety of non-invasive optical techniques used to study activity in the living brain. Leading authorities from such diverse areas as biophysics, neuroscience, and cognitive science present a host of perspectives that range from a single neuron to large assemblies of millions of neurons, captured at various temporal and spatial resolutions. Introducing techniques that were not available just a few years ago, the authors describe the theory, setup, analytical methods, and examples that highlight the advantages of each particular method.
Download or read book Networks of the Brain written by Olaf Sporns and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An integrative overview of network approaches to neuroscience explores the origins of brain complexity and the link between brain structure and function. Over the last decade, the study of complex networks has expanded across diverse scientific fields. Increasingly, science is concerned with the structure, behavior, and evolution of complex systems ranging from cells to ecosystems. In Networks of the Brain, Olaf Sporns describes how the integrative nature of brain function can be illuminated from a complex network perspective. Highlighting the many emerging points of contact between neuroscience and network science, the book serves to introduce network theory to neuroscientists and neuroscience to those working on theoretical network models. Sporns emphasizes how networks connect levels of organization in the brain and how they link structure to function, offering an informal and nonmathematical treatment of the subject. Networks of the Brain provides a synthesis of the sciences of complex networks and the brain that will be an essential foundation for future research.
Download or read book Observations on the Structure and Functions of the Spinal Cord written by Richard Dugard Grainger and published by . This book was released on 1837 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Neurobiology of Olfaction written by Anna Menini and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2009-11-24 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprehensive Overview of Advances in OlfactionThe common belief is that human smell perception is much reduced compared with other mammals, so that whatever abilities are uncovered and investigated in animal research would have little significance for humans. However, new evidence from a variety of sources indicates this traditional view is likely
Download or read book Rhythms of the Brain written by G. Buzsáki and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Studies of mechanisms in the brain that allow complicated things to happen in a coordinated fashion have produced some of the most spectacular discoveries in neuroscience. This book provides eloquent support for the idea that spontaneous neuron activity, far from being mere noise, is actually the source of our cognitive abilities. It takes a fresh look at the coevolution of structure and function in the mammalian brain, illustrating how self-emerged oscillatory timing is the brain's fundamental organizer of neuronal information. The small-world-like connectivity of the cerebral cortex allows for global computation on multiple spatial and temporal scales. The perpetual interactions among the multiple network oscillators keep cortical systems in a highly sensitive "metastable" state and provide energy-efficient synchronizing mechanisms via weak links. In a sequence of "cycles," György Buzsáki guides the reader from the physics of oscillations through neuronal assembly organization to complex cognitive processing and memory storage. His clear, fluid writing-accessible to any reader with some scientific knowledge-is supplemented by extensive footnotes and references that make it just as gratifying and instructive a read for the specialist. The coherent view of a single author who has been at the forefront of research in this exciting field, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in our rapidly evolving understanding of the brain.
Download or read book Brain Mind and the Structure of Reality written by Paul L. Nunez and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-05-24 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does the brain create the mind, or is some external entity involved? This book synthesizes ideas borrowed from philosophy, religion, and science. Topics range widely from brain imagining of thought processes to quantum mechanics and the essential role of information in brains and physical systems.
Download or read book The Neuroscience of Empathy Compassion and Self Compassion written by Larry Charles Stevens and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Neuroscience of Empathy, Compassion, and Self-Compassion provides contemporary perspectives on the three related domains of empathy, compassion and self-compassion (ECS). It informs current research, stimulates further research endeavors, and encourages continued and creative philosophical and scientific inquiry into the critical societal constructs of ECS. Examining the growing number of electrocortical (EEG Power Spectral, Coherence, Evoked Potential, etc.) studies and the sizeable body of exciting neuroendocrine research (e.g., oxytocin, dopamine, etc.) that have accumulated over decades, this reference is a unique and comprehensive approach to empathy, compassion and self-compassion. - Provides perspectives on empathy, compassion and self-compassion (ECS), including discussions of cruelty, torture, killings, homicides, suicides, terrorism and other examples of empathy/compassion erosion - Addresses autonomic nervous system (vagal) reflections of ECS - Discusses recent findings and understanding of ECS from mirror neuron research - Covers neuroendocrine manifestations of ECS and self-compassion and the neuroendocrine enhancement - Examines the neuroscience research on the enhancement of ECS - Includes directed-meditations (mindfulness, mantra, Metta, etc.) and their effects on ECS and the brain
