The Neuron: Cell and Molecular Biology

The Fourth Edition of The Neuron provides a comprehensive first course in the cell and molecular biology of nerve cells. The book begins with properties of the many newly discovered ion channels that have emerged through mapping of the genome. These channels shape the way a single neuron generates varied patterns of electrical activity. Covered next are the molecular mechanisms that convert electrical activity into the secretion of neurotransmitter hormones at synaptic junctions between neurons. The following section examines the biochemical pathways that are linked to the action of neurotransmitters and that can alter the cellular properties of neurons or sensory cells that transduce information from the outside world into the electrical code used by neurons. The final section reviews our rapidly expanding knowledge of the molecular factors that induce an undifferentiated cell to become a neuron, and then guide it to form appropriate synaptic connections with its partners. This section also focuses on the role of ongoing experience and activity in shaping these connections, and finishes with an account of mechanisms thought to underlie the phenomena of learning and memory. The book contains scores of color figures and fully updated chapters; online content packaged exclusively with the Fourth Edition includes detailed animations of neural processes, in-depth supplemental reading, and additional full-color figures and tables.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Fourth Edition I. Introduction 1. Signaling in the Brain 2. Form and Function in Cells of the Brain II. Electrical Properties of Neurons 3. Electrical Signaling in Neurons 4. Membrane Ion Channels and Ion Currents 5. Ion Channels Are Membrane Proteins 6. Ion Channels, Membrane Ion Currents, and the Action Potential 7. Diversity in the Structure and Function of Ion Channels III. Intercellular Communication 8. Intercellular Communication: How Neurons Communicate: Gap Junctions and Neurosecretion 9. Synaptic Release of Neurotransmitters 10. Neurotransmitters and Neurohormones 11. Receptors and Transduction Mechanisms I: Receptors Coupled Directly to Ion Channels 12. Receptors and Transduction Mechanisms II: Indirectly Coupled Receptor/Ion Channel Systems 13. Sensory Receptors IV. Behavior and Plasticity 14. The Birth and Death of a Neuron 15. Neuronal Growth and Trophic Factors 16. Adhesion Molecules and Axon Pathfinding 17. Formation, Maintenance, and Plasticity of Chemical Synapses 18. Intrinsic Neuronal Properties, Neural Networks and Behavior 19. Learning and Memory

About the Author :
Irwin B. Levitan, Ph.D., Founding Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University Leonard K. Kaczmarek, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology and Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine.

Review :
"The text is impressively modern, with up-to date information on the trendiest areas of neurobiology . . .the book is highly visual, with figures on virtually every page. The figures deserve special comment because they are a teacher's dream: simple and uncluttered, but conceptually powerful. Frankly, although the recommendation is often absurd, The Neuron is one of those books that really does belong on every shelf. "--Nature "The format of each chapter is ideally suited for easy, enjoyable, and almost effortless learning . . . This is a superbly written and well-illustrated text covering all of the major aspects of neuroscientific knowledge . . . every neuroscientist should keep a copy handy."--Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience "This is a first-rate textbook for a course in cellular neurobiology for upper-level university students. My colleagues and I took it out on a shakedown cruise with a class of 250 undergraduates. The wind really caught their sails, and we sped quickly through it in the ten weeks of the academic quarter. The students appreciated the consistent clarity and the uniformity of style. The illustrations are highly conceptual and were easily understood . . . The up-to-date presentation of many exciting recent findings is a great strength. General principles are illustrated with a useful blend of data from vertebrate and invertebrate systems."--William S Messer, Jr., in The Quarterly Review of Biology "An outstanding, easily readable, and quite up-to-date overview of fundamental neurobiology."--Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences