Techniques in the neurosciences are evolving rapidly. There are currently very few volumes dedicated to the methodology - ployed by neurosclentlsts, and those that are available often seem either out of date or limited m scope. This series is about the methods most widely used by modern-day neurosclentists and 1s wrltten by their colleagues who are practicing experts. Volume 1 will be useful to all neurosclentists since It concerns those procedures used routinely across the widest range of subdisciplines. Collecting these general techniques together m a single volume strikes us not only as a...

Techniques in the neurosciences are evolving rapidly. There are currently very few volumes dedicated to the methodology - ployed by neuroscrentists, and those that are available often seem either out of date or limited in scope. This series is about the methods most widely used by modern-day neuroscientists and 1s written by their colleagues who are practicing experts. Volume 1 will be useful to all neuroscientists since it concerns those procedures used routinely across the widest range of s- drsciplines. Collecting these general techniques together in a single volume stnkes us not only as a...

Techniques in the neurosciences are evolving rapidly. There are currently very few volumes dedicated to the methodology - ployed by neuroscrentists, and those that are available often seem either out of date or limited in scope. This series is about the methods most widely used by modern-day neuroscientists and is written by their colleagues who are practicing experts. Volume 1 will be useful to all neuroscientists since rt concerns those procedures used routmely across the wrdest range of s- disciplines. Collecting these general techniques together in a single volume strikes us not only as a...

Techniques in the neurosciences are evolving rapidly. There are currently very few volumes dedicated to the methodology - ployed by neuroscientists, and those that are available often seem either out of date or limited in scope. This series is about the methods most widely used by modern-day neuroscientists and is written by their colleagues who are practicing experts. Volume 1 will be useful to all neuroscientists since it concerns those procedures used routmely across the widest range of s- disciplines. Collecting these general techniques together in a single volume strikes us not only as a...

Recent years have seen remarkable advances in the devel- ment of techniques that have direct applications in neurological research. In consequence, the circulatory and metabolic status of the brain can be measured and correlated with changes m structure often noninvasively, m the same - and integrated function, perimental subIect This has stimulated an increased awareness of the complexity, under normal and pathological conditions, of the interdependence of these factors. Through the application of the methods described in this volume, however, these complexities can now be analyzed. The...

If one envisages neuroscience as a pyramid, with the more mole- lar disciplines forming the base and the more integrative d- ciplines positioned above, then neuropsychology clearly would be near the tip. Neuropsychology seeks to find order in the ultimate product of all neural systems, namely behavior, and to relate that product to its neural substrate. Relationships between brain and behavior are sought, but reductionistic explanations are eschewed. Attempting to "explain" complex behaviors in terms of neuronal activity is no more satisfying than attempting to "explain" artificial...

It goes without saying that the principles and techniques of molecular biology are having and will continue to have a major impact on investigations into nervous system structure and func tion. It is becoming increasingly apparent to neuroscientists in all subdisciplines that a working knowledge of the language, approaches, and techniques of molecular biology is indispensable for their work. For these reasons, the editors have decided to devote this volume of Neuromethods to the techniques of molecular biology and their application to neural systems. There currently exist a number of...

The G proteins are a family of structurally homologous, plasma membrane-associated guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins. These proteins play an integral role in the tra- duction of extracellular signals through second messenger systems. As such, G proteins affect a wide variety of intra cellular biochemical reactions by regulating the concent- tion of second messengers in cells. G proteins are heterotrimeric, consisting of a, p, and y polypeptide chains, with G protein specificity largely det- mined by the a-subunit, Molecular cloning of G protein s- units has revealed 23 distinct a-subunits,...

Most cells will survive removal from the natural mic- environment of their in vivo tissue and placement into a sterile culture dish under optimal conditions. Not only do they survive, but they also multiply and express differen- ated properties in such a culture dish. A few cells do this in suspension, but most will need some kind of mechanical support substituting for their natural connections with other cells. The surface of a culture dish that might have to be coated is usually sufficient. The recent trend to standa- ization of conditions and the existence of commercial ent- prises with...

The development of neurophysiology, the study of the activity of living nervous tissue, has relied heavily on the techniques of electrophysiology. This emphasis is revealed in volumes 14 and 15 of this series, which show how electrophysiological techniques can be applied to research topics ranging from ion channels to human behavior. Kitai and Park show how cellular neurophysiology can be related to classical neuroanatomy, an important basis for any type of functional analysis. Wonderlin, French, Arispe, and Jones describe new (single channel) and more traditional (whole cell) techniques for...