Sensory Processing in the Mammalian Brain

Sensory Processing in the Mammalian Brain

Author: Gerhard Werner

Publisher:

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13:

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The essays in this edited volume are written by neuroscientists distinguished for their research into the neurobiology of mammalian sensory processing. Covering a wide range of current experimental approaches to the investigation of the mammalian brain, the contributors address the nature of the central neural representation of the major sensory systems--taste, smell, hearing, sight, pain, and touch. Comparisons of their experimental rationales, methods of approach, and of the resulting data, demonstrate the commonality of many features of neural organization between the different sensory systems explored. Among the features discussed in detail are the import of elaborately structured maps of sensory function in the cerebral cortex, the degree of anatomical and physiological separation of different aspects of the input within single sensory systems, the nature of neuron assemblies responsible for complex analytic events, and the relation between metabolic patterns of activity and physiological recording of response properties. The importance of theoretical models, new imaging techniques, and investigations using neural transplants for experimental analysis of sensory systems are demonstrated and the influence of the concepts of cognitive psychology on experimental investigations of sensory processing is discussed. A series of commentaries links the book's different sections, indicating for the reader those aspects of the experimental findings that are of particular importance to an understanding of the field as a whole.


The Cerebellum as a Neuronal Machine

The Cerebellum as a Neuronal Machine

Author: John C. Eccles

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-04-17

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 3662131471

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This book has had a three-fold origin, corresponding to the discoveries made by the three authors and their collaborators during the last few years - mostly since 1962. A most fruitful symposium on the cerebellum was held in Tokyo at the time of the International Physiological Congress in September 1965, and there was then formulated the project of writing this book so as to organize all this new knowledge and make it readily available, and to give opportunity for the con ceptual developments that may be seen in Chapters XI, XII and XV in particular. The present account of the physiological properties of the cerebellar cortex is based to a large extent on systematic investigations that were concerned with discovering the mode of operation of the constituent neuronal elements of the cerebellar cortex. This work was carried out in the Physiology Department of the Australian National University from 1963 to 1966 in collaboration with several visiting scientists - initially Drs. ANDERSEN, OscARssaN and VooRHOEVE and later Drs. LuNAs, SAsAKI and STRATA - to all of whom grateful thanks are extended for a great many of the figures, and even more significantly for the original and critical contributions that they made to so many aspects of this exploration into the mode of operation of the neural machinery of the cerebellar cortex.


Somatosensory Processing

Somatosensory Processing

Author: Mark Rowe

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2001-01-23

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1000687880

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The diversity of contemporary investigative approaches included in this volume provides an exciting account of our current understanding of brain mechanisms responsible for sensory and perceptual experience in the areas of touch, kinesthesia, and pain. Postgraduate research students in sensory physiology, neurology, psychology and anatomy, and r


The olivo-cerebellar system

The olivo-cerebellar system

Author: Egidio D'Angelo

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 288919826X

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During the last decades, investigations on the olivo-cerebellar system have attained a high level of sophistication, which led to redefinitions of several structural and functional properties of neurons, synapses, connections and circuits. Research has expanded and deepened in so many directions and so many theories and models have been proposed that an ensemble review of the matter is now needed. Yet, hot topics remain open and scientific discussion is very lively at several fronts. One major question, here as well as in other major brain circuits, is how single neurons and synaptic properties emerge at the network level and contribute to behavioural regulation via neuronal plasticity. Other major aspects that this Research Topic covers and discusses include the development and circuit organization of the olivo-cerebellar network, the established and recent theories of learning and motor control, and the emerging role of the cerebellum in cognitive processing. By touching on such varied and encompassing subjects, this Frontiers Special Topic aims to highlight the state of the art and stimulate future research. We hope that this unique collection of high-quality articles from experts in the field will provide scientists with a powerful basis of knowledge and inspiration to enucleate the major issues deserving further attention.


Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders

Handbook of the Cerebellum and Cerebellar Disorders

Author: Mario Manto

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-08-04

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789400713321

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Our knowledge of cerebellar functions and cerebellar disorders, called ataxias, is increasing considerably. Studies of the cerebellum are now a central focus in neuroscience. During the last four decades, many laboratories worldwide have dedicated their research activities to understanding the roles of the cerebellum in motor control, cognitive processes and biology of mental processes, behavioral symptoms, and emotion. It is now accepted that the cerebellum acts as a cognitive operator in learning, perception, and attention. Moreover, major improvements in our assessment of in vivo cerebellar architecture using imaging techniques have occurred. A typical example is the accurate description of cerebellar anatomy during fetal development with MRI, a progress which has direct impacts on patient care. These advances have been associated with discoveries of new clinical disorders, in particular in the field of genetic ataxias. More than 20 new genes have been identified these last 10 years. Only for dominant ataxias, more than 30 diseases have now been unravelled. The number of ataxic disorders will increase with aging, the cerebellum being the structure of the brain with the most important loss of neurons with age. More than 300 different cerebellar disorders are encountered during daily practice, but we are missing a single source of information explaining their pathogenesis. Despite the immense amount of knowledge acquired about the cerebellar circuitry these last years, a large book covering the neuroscience of the cerebellum is missing. The goal of this endeavour is to bring up to date information relevant for basic science and also for clinical activities. To reach this goal, the most renowned authors are gathered in a unique and in-depth book with a format of a handbook. We emphasize the connections between molecular findings, imaging features, behavioural/neuropsychological aspects, and clinical implications.


Somesthesis and the Neurobiology of the Somatosensory Cortex

Somesthesis and the Neurobiology of the Somatosensory Cortex

Author: O. Franzen

Publisher: Birkhäuser

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 3034890168

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This volume is a compilation of current research on somatosensation and its underlying mechanisms written by international experts from a broad range of disciplines. It is divided into six sections:· structural basis of information processing and neocortical neurotransmitters · psychophysics of somatosensation · cortical representation of somatosensation · sensory-motor interface · neuronal population behavior · cortical neurocomputation and modelling. It highlights not only important new findings but also novel methods and technologies applied to major unresolved issues in the field of neuroscience. The number of methods for investigating the neural mechanisms of soma-tosensory perception has grown substantially in the last decade. The book encompasses levels of inquiry from ionic channels, single unit recordings of neural activity, and functional brain imaging of the coordinated activity of large neuronal ensembles to human psychophysics of controlled somatic stimulation. This work is of great value for researchers and students interested in the dynamic neuronal mechanisms involved in the complex processes of sensory perception and provides a picture of our present understanding of the neural representation of the external world relayed through the somatosensory system.