This book is the result of the 20th International Summer School in Brain Research, organized in August 1997 in Amsterdam, by the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. It is the first book that provides a complete overview of the field of neurodegeneration and regeneration including spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative diseases and therapy. Divided into five sections, the first two sections give an overview of fundamental research on nerve cell death, neuronal survival, neurite outgrowth and guidance. Extensive attention is given to the role of neurotrophins, their receptor tyrosine kinases and cell-adhesion molecules in development and regeneration of the nervous system. The third section of the book is devoted to research involving human neurodegenerative diseases and emerging treatment strategies. Section four focusses on recent advances in the understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases along with prion diseases. Novel insights into the neuropathological hallmarks of these diseases, as well as into transgenic animal models, the involvement of environmental factors, and genomic and mRNA changes that can cause neurodegeneration. The final section of this volume reveals recent developments in the use of cell and gene therapy to treat neurodegenerative disease and lesion-related deficits. Implantation of genetically modified cells, direct gene transfer with viral vectors and the first clinical trials with encapsulated genetically modified cells in patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral scelerosis are examples of new therapeutic strategies treating neurodegenerative diseases.The book is of particular interest to departments of neuroscience, neurological clinics and departments, the pharmalogical industry and medical libraries.

Degeneration and Regeneration in the Nervous System brings together an international team of contributors to produce a series of critical reviews appraising key papers in the field. The pace of research on brain and spinal cord injury quickened considerably in the last ten years and there is much that is new and important that is covered in this book. However, there is still a long way to go before our knowledge will explain fully why the central nervous system has such a limited capacity for regeneration, and before experimental solutions can be applied to the patient. With emphasis on actual and therapeutic importance of the work reviewed, Degeneration and Regeneration in the Nervous System is a useful overview for graduate students, their teachers and researchers working in this field.

In the last decade, we have witnessed a striking maturation of our understanding of how neurons in the spinal cord control muscular activity and movement. Paradoxically, a host of new findings have revealed an unexpected versatility in the behavior of these well-studied neural elements and circuits. In this volume, the world's leading experts review the current state of our knowledge of motor control, outline their latest results and developments, and delineate the seminal unresolved questions in this vibrant field of research. The volume begins with a commentary and overview of our current understanding of the peripheral and spinal basis of motor control. The remainder of the volume is divided into seven sections, each focused on a different problem. The first chapter in each section provides some historical review and presages the experimental findings and hypotheses that are discussed in subsequent chapters.Topics include the biomechanics of neuromuscular systems, the properties of motoneurons and the muscle units they control, spinal interneurons, pattern generating circuits, locomotion, descending control of spinal circuits, comparative physiology of motor systems, and motor systems neurophysiology studied in man. The book serves as a unique reference volume and should be essential reading for anyone interested in motor systems. Moreover, the volume's comprehensive coverage of a wide range of topics make it an effective textbook for graduate level courses in motor control neurobiology, kinesiology, physical therapy, and rehabilitation medicine.

Brain Mechanisms for the Integration of Posture and Movement

Internationally renowned researchers discuss how the various parts of the brain process and integrate visual signals, providing up to date original findings, reviews, and theoretical proposals on visual processing. This book addresses the basic mechanisms of visual perception as well as issues such as neuronal plasticity, functional reorganization and recovery, residual vision, and sensory substitution. Knowledge of the basic mechanisms by which our brain can analyze, reconstruct, and interpret images in the external world is of fundamental importance for our capacity to understand the nature and causes of visual deficits, such as those resulting from ischemia, abnormal development, neuro-degenerative disorders, and normal aging. It is also essential to our goal of developing better therapeutic strategies, such as early diagnosis, visual training, behavioral rehabilitation of visual functions, and visual implants.

The articles comprising this volume were first presented at the World Congress on Neurohypophysial Hormones held in Bordeaux, France on September 8-12, 2001. This conference brought together more than 170 scientists from 18 countries who belong to the different fields of interest representing research in the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system. Two neurohypophysial neurohormones, oxytocin and vasopressin, exert a variety of central and peripheral actions and thus involve different scientific domains, which too often, even today, do not always find the appropriate occasion to interact. This volume is composed of chapters dealing with topics varying from basic and clinical neurosciences and neuroendocrinology, to reproductive, renal, cardiovascular physiology and pathology. It encompasses all areas of current neurohypophysial research and should be of vital interest as an integrative reference volume to specialized investigators and as an excellent introductory text to students, scientists and clinicians not yet closely familiar with the field. To ensure novelty and to make sure that all topics of current importance were covered, plenary and symposium speakers as well as poster presentations concentrated on recent advances made in the last few years.

In the past decade neuronal plasticity has become a major theme of modern neurobiology, from cellular and molecular mechanisms of synapse formation in worms and insects to behavioural recovery from strokes in elderly humans. For this reason the focus of interest in the present volume of Progress in Brain Research is on the topic of neuroplasticity in mature organisms, including humans. Contributions range from neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity in the adult primate brain, to neural mechanisms of learning and memory, and the influence of environmental factors and aging on the functional potential of the central nervous system. Several contributions focus on recent developments in neural regeneration and brain repair, providing challenging evidence that the use of stem cell neurotherapy may be beneficial to humans suffering from various neurological and psychiatric diseases. This volume integrates new information on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuroplasticity and highlights challenging future questions in this exciting and topical area of neuroscience.