The original intent of the series Studies of Brain Function was to offer a forum to neurobiologists working in different fields to present some of their recent results in a more extensive way. What may have been or might be published in several papers appearing in different journals will thus be com bined in one monograph, thus making the data more easily available to a wider scientific community. It is also believed that such an attempt will provide a more comprehensive insight into one particular field of neurobiol ogy. Admittedly, the monograph will represent a more subjective view than...

Sensorimotor systems are not rigidly wired predetermined networks but rather highly plastic structures that learn and modify their entire performance in response to changes in external or internal conditions. Lesions or distortions of the system's input, which initially cause a functional disorganization, induce an active reorganization which often leads to a recovery of function. Examples of lesion-induced neural plasticity have been known for some hundred years; however, an awareness of their value as research tools is relatively new. This current interest is a consequence of rapid ly...

Over the past few semesters a group of neurologists, neurophysiologists, and brain theorists in various departments of Tlibingen University have gathered periodically in an effort to review ideas and evidence on cerebel lar functions. At times, general solutions seemed close, when credit was given to various theoretical proposals advanced since the early days of cer ebellar physiology, however, it became clear in every case that a large part of the available facts refused to submit to the general ideas. As believers in the power of scientific discussion, we felt that the time was ripe for...

In review, the amount of information available on the morphological and func tional properties of the frog nervous system is very extensive indeed and in certain areas is the only available source of information in vertebrates. Further more, much of the now classical knowledge in neurobiology was originally ob tained and elaborated in depth in this vertebrate. To cite only a few examples, studies of nerve conduction, neuromuscular transmission, neuronal integration, sense organs, development, and locomotion have been developed with great detail in the frog and in conjunction provide the most...