The "functional" in the title of this book not only reflects my personal bias about neuroanatomy in brain research, it is also the gist of many chapters which describe sophisticated ways to resolve structures and interpret them as dynamic entities. Examples are: the visualization of functionally identified brain areas or neurons by activity staining or intracellular dye-iontophoresis; the resolution of synaptic connections between physiologically identified nerve cells; and the biochemical identification of specific neurons (their peptides and transmitters) by histo- and immunocytochemistry....

Most neurobiological research is performed on vertebrates, and it is only natural that most texts describing neuroanatomical methods refer almost exclusively to this Phylum. Nevertheless, in recent years insects have been studied intensively and are becoming even more popular in some areas of research. They have advantages over vertebrates with respect to studying genetics of neuronal development and with respect to studying many aspects of integration by uniquely identifiable nerve cells. Insect central nervous system is characterized by its compactness and the rather large number of nerve...