The extremely labile nature of the nervous system has proved an intriguing area of research for over thirty years. From the earliest stages of neuronal growth during development, both the morphology and strength of neuronal connections within the central nervous system are shaped and modified by experience. While connections between neurons that are continually stimulated are strengthened, redundant connections weaken and are eventually lost. The Mutable Brain provides a comprehensive introduction to plasticity of the brain and neural circuits whilst covering the history of neurological research, from early work on the developing visual system, right through to current state-of-the-art molecular techniques. Authored by leading researchers in the field, it address a range of research areas, including ongoing research on the behavioural significance of hippocampal plasticity, the mediation of avian vocal learning by neural plasticity and the dynamicity of the somatosensory system with its multi-hierarchical interactions. Together, these chapters provide a broad, introductory overview of current views on neuronal plasticity.
The Rust programming language is consistent and does its best to avoid surprising the programmer. Like all languages, though, Rust still has its quirks. But these quirks present a teaching opportunity. In this book, you'll work through a series of brain teasers that will challenge your understanding of Rust. By understanding the gaps in your knowledge, you can become better at what you do and avoid mistakes. Many of the teasers in this book come from the author's own experience creating software. Others derive from commonly asked questions in the Rust community. Regardless of their origin, these brain teasers are fun, and let's face it: who doesn't love a good puzzle, right? What better way to exercise your brain and increase your Rust programming knowledge than with a collection of dynamic brain teasers? As you read through each of these puzzles and try to work out the answers, you'll not only learn about Rust's unique quirks and peculiarities, you'll also have loads of fun along the way. Dive right in and get started with example code and sample problems that cover numbers and text, shadowing and memory, and everything in between. Try to figure out why a particular program won't compile, why it produces unexpected output, or why it panics and terminates with an error message. Once you've run the code and read the answer, it's time to get to the heart of the matter with a detailed explanation. Learn why a program produced the result it did, and discover how similar issues might affect the code you write in your own programs, even in production. Sourced from engaging discussions within the Rust community, real-world problems, and even reader feedback, these challenges will certainly surprise, enlighten, and entertain you. Are you ready to experience Rust like never before? Then sharpen your brain and get ready for a challenge! What You Need: This book assumes you have some knowledge of the Rust programming language. To work through the brain teasers in this book, you'll need a working Rust environment on any platform. You can install Rust by visiting https://rustup.rs/. You'll also need a text editor or Rust-friendly IDE.
The nervous system has a remarkable capacity for self-reorganization, and in this first systematic analysis of the interaction between hormones and brain plasticity, Luis Miguel Garcia-Segura proposes that hormones modulate metaplasticity in the brain. He covers a wide variety of hormones, brain regions, and neuroplastic events, and also provides a new theoretical background with which to interpret the interaction of hormones and brain remodeling throughout the entire life of the organism.Garcia-Segura argues that hormones are indispensable for adequately adapting the endogenous neuroplastic activity of the brain to the incessant modifications in external and internal environments. Their regulation of neuroplastic events in a given moment predetermines new neuroplastic responses that will occur in the future, adapting brain reorganization to changing physiological and behavioral demands throughout the life of the organism. The cross-regulation of brain plasticity and hormones integrates information originated in multiple endocrine glands and body organs with information coming from the external world in conjunction with the previous history of the organism. Multiple hormonal signals act in concert to regulate the generation of morphological and functional changes in neural cells, as well as the replacement of neurons, glial, and endothelial cells in neural networks. Brain remodeling, in turn, is involved in controlling the activity of the endocrine glands and regulating hormonal secretions. This bidirectional adjustment of brain plasticity in response to hormonal inputs, and adjustment of hormonal concentrations in response to neuroplastic events are crucial for maintaining the stability of the inner milieu and for the generation of adequate behavioral responses in anticipation of--and in adaptation to--new social and environmental circumstances and life events, including pathological conditions.
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.
The brain is the organ of knowledge and organizer of our abilities, our means of recognizing a face in a crowd, of conversing about anything we experience or imagine, of forming thoughts and developing ideas, of instantly understanding words coming rapidly in conversation. How does it manage all this? Does it represent information in symbols or in the connectivity of a vast network?Pathways of the Brain builds a theory to answer such questions. Using a top-down modeling strategy, it charts relationships among words and other products of the brain's linguistic system to reveal properties of that system. Going beyond earlier linguistics, it sets three plausibility requirements for a valid neurocognitive theory: operational, developmental, and neurological: It must show how the linguistic system can operate for speaking and understanding, how it can be learned by children, and how it is implemented in neural structures. Unlike theories that leave linguistics isolated from science, it builds a bridge to biology. Of interest to anthropologists, linguists, neurologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, psychologists, and any thoughtful person interested in language or the brain. The author is Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Cognitive Sciences.
The Poet's Mind is a comprehensive study of the ways in which Victorian poets thought and wrote about the human mind. It argues that these poets used their writing both to express psychological processes of thought and feeling and to subject those processes to scrutiny and analysis.
Philosophy has long puzzled over the relation between mind and brain. This volume presents some of the state-of-the-art reflections on philosophical efforts to 'make sense' of neuroscience, as regards issue including neuroaesthetics, brain science and the law, neurofeminism, embodiment, race, memory and pain.
Generations of mothers have been told -- and believed -- that having a baby means checking their own brains at the delivery room door. "The Mommy Brain" usually refers to a head full of feeding times, soccer schedules, and nursery rhymes, at the expense of creative or challenging ideas. But recent scientific research paints a dramatically different and far rosier picture. Journalist Katherine Ellison draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to demonstrate that, contrary to long-established wisdom that having children dumbs you down, raising children may make moms smarter . From enhanced senses in pregnancy and early motherhood to the alertness and memory skills necessary to manage like a pro, to a greater aptitude for risk-taking and a talent for empathy and negotiation, these advantages not only help mothers in raising their children, but in their work and social lives as well. Filled with lively (and often hilarious) stories of multitasking moms at home and on the job, The Mommy Brain encourages all of us to cast aside conventional thinking and discover the positive ways in which having children changes mothers' brains for the better.
On request, this reader is free when packaged with any Worth text. This single-topic issue from Scientific American magazine features the latest findings from the most distinguished researchers in the field. It covers a range of fascinating subjects and is a terrific supplement for any psychology course.
An excellent resource for teachers and students of yogasana, medical professionals, and bodywork practitioners, A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers presents novel aspects of physiology and neuroscience as they apply to the practice of yoga. If you have ever wondered why we do yogasana as we do, you will likely find the answers within these pages. Endorsements "A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers provides a lucid blending of Eastern and Western science that helps us understand the human body from both perspectives! It is a major contribution to both medicine and yoga." Rajvi Mehta, editor, Yoga Rahasya, Mumbai "This book is quite obviously the result of extensive thought and effort on the part of the author. It contains a wide range of information, blending present-day anatomy and physiology with knowledge of yoga from ancient texts." Dr. Shirley Telles, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, Bangalore "There is a paucity of books such as this handbook ... I liked the colorful descriptions and stories interspersed throughout." Lois Steinberg, teacher and therapist, Iyengar Yoga Institute of Champaign-Urbana "The book is unique in its mixture of scientific explanation and practical application ... As a practicing Iyengar teacher with no medical background, I have had little choice but to accept the words of B. K. S. and Geeta Iyengar in their description of the effects and benefits of poses ... I have had no reason to doubt them, but when teaching students with a Western mind, it helps to present them with a 'scientific reason' why." Renata Cardinal, certified Iyengar yoga teacher, Watchung Yoga Arts Center, New Jersey "Mel Robin's labor of love has combined his knowledge of modern anatomy and physiology and traditional yoga beliefs (mostly in the Iyengar tradition) together with personal opinion and analysis based on years of teaching and practice within this tradition. By painstakingly collecting this material together, he has done a great service to the yoga community, especially those with an interest in yoga therapy and the intersection between yoga and Western medicine." Dr. Ruth Gilmore, faculty, Yoga Therapy Centre, London "A Handbook for Yogasana Teachers is useful for yoga teachers and serious yoga students who wish to bridge their understanding of Western and Eastern concepts. It may help practitioners of other Eastern methods of healing find ways to explain what they are doing to Western students or clients. Western doctors who want to understand Eastern healing methods will find the book extremely beneficial." Jessie Thompson, director, the Yoga Loft of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
