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."

The Linguistic Cerebellum provides a comprehensive analysis of this unique part of the brain that has the most number of neurons, each operating in distinct networks to perform diverse functions. This book outlines how those distinct networks operate in relation to non-motor language skills. Coverage includes cerebellar anatomy and function in relation to speech perception, speech planning, verbal fluency, grammar processing, and reading and writing, along with a discussion of language disorders. Discusses the neurobiology of cerebellar language functions, encompassing both normal language function and language disorders Includes speech perception, processing, and planning Contains cerebellar function in reading and writing Explores how language networks give insight to function elsewhere in the brain

Leading neuroscientist Dr. Masao Ito advances a detailed and fascinating view of what the cerebellum contributes to brain function. The cerebellum has been seen as primarily involved in coordination of body movement control, facilitating the learning of motor skills such as those involved in walking, riding a bicycle, or playing a piano. The cerebellum is now viewed as an assembly of numerous neuronal machine modules, each of which provides an implicit learning capability to various types of motor control. The cerebellum enables us to unconsciously learn motor skills through practice by forming internal models simulating control system properties of the body parts. Based on these remarkable advances in our understanding of motor control mechanisms of the cerebellum, Ito presents a still larger view of the cerebellum as serving a higher level of brain functions beyond movements, including the implicit part of the thought and cognitive processes that manipulate knowledge. Ito extends his investigation of the cerebellum to discuss neural processes that may be involved implicitly in such complex mental actions as having an intuition, imagination, hallucination, or delusion.

The Cerebellum and Cognition pulls together a preeminent group of authors. The cerebellum has been previously considered as a highly complex structure involved only with motor control. The cerebellum is essential to nonmotor functions, and recent research has revealed new medically important roles of the cerebellum and cognitive processes. Selected for inclusion in Doody's Core Titles 2013, an essential collection development tool for health sciences libraries Comprehensive coverage of cerebellum in motor control and cognition New developments regarding the cerebellum and motor systems Therapeutic implications of cerebellar contributions to cognition Preeminent group of contributors

The Cerebellum provides a concise, accessible overview of modern data on physiology and function of the cerebellum as it relates to learning, plasticity, and neurodegenerative diseases. Encompassing anatomy and physiology, theoretical work, cellular mechanisms, clinical research, and disorders, the book covers learning and plasticity while introducing the anatomy of the cerebellum. Known and proposed "functions of the cerebellum" are addressed on clinical, physiological, cellular, and computational levels, providing academics, researchers, medical students, and graduate students with an invaluable reference.

An integrated textbook of medical neuroscience, this book coherently presents the anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry of the human nervous system. The neuroanatomy is presented in a way that is integrated with a modern presentation of cellular neurophysiological systems, neuroscience, and cellular, molecular, and developmental neuroscience. Clinical correlations are provided wherever appropriate.