Abstract

The Structure and Function of Nervous Tissue, Volume IV: Physiology II and Biochemistry II focuses on the structure and function of nervous tissue. It investigates the plasticity of synapses, their degeneration and regeneration, neuronal inclusions, RNA of nervous tissue, and molecular organization of neural information processing. Furthermore, it covers topics on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the nervous system, the blood-brain barrier, and the extracellular space (ECS) in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS).
Organized into 10 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of synapses, with emphasis on changes in both the efficacy of individual synapses and the numbers of synapses made by axons upon neurons. It then discusses the orthograde terminal degeneration of synapses and the use of light and electron microscopy in studying synapse degeneration and regeneration. It also explains the synthesis, storage, and release of acetylcholine from nerve terminals; inclusions associated with viral infections; metabolism of RNA in nervous tissue; chemical correlates of information processing; metabolism of GABA in mammalian CNS; electrical activity of the normal brain; and chemistry of the cerebrospinal fluid. The book concludes with a chapter on the mechanism by which vertebrate central nervous tissue alters the magnitude of the ECS.
This book will be of interest to anatomists, embryologists, biochemists, pathologists, clinicians, and molecular biologists. This will be invaluable as well to graduate students in a variety of disciplines and those specializing in particular aspects of nervous tissue study.