Brain Slices in Basic and Clinical Research

Brain Slices in Basic and Clinical Research describes advancements in the field of brain function and dysfunction through use of central nervous system slice preparations. Topics are authored by leading scientists and include the following: Mechanisms of synaptic plasticity as the basis of memory processes Chaos and synaptic variability Brain calcium currents Glutamate receptors Pathophysiology of excitotoxins Cerebral hypoxia-ischemia Neuronal injury Free radicals Optical methods of measuring brain metabolism Voltammetry in brain slices Calcium imaging Patch-clamp recording and application of macromolecules through patch-clamp pipettes in brain slices Intracellular double labeling of various neuronal populations Use of brain slices in teaching neurophysiological methods Most of the topics are published in book format for the first time, and some of the techniques are more fully detailed than in any other book.

Table of Contents:
1 Advances in Understanding the Mechanisms Underlying Synaptic Plasticity, 2 Chaotic Components of Synaptic Variability in Hippocampal Pathways, 3 Intrinsic Optical Properties of Brain Slices: Useful Indices of Electrophysiology and Metabolism, 4 Voltammetry in Brain Slices, 5 Imaging of Intracellular Calcium in Hippocampal Slices: Methods, Limitations, and Achievements, 6 Patch-Clamp Recording in Brain Slices, 7 Intracellular Application of Macromolecules Through Patch Pipettes in Brain Slices, 8 Intracellular Double Labeling of Substantia Nigra and Pedunculopontine Neurons in In Vitro Slice Preparation, 9 The Importance of Temperature Control When Investigating High-Threshold Calcium Currents in Mammalian Neurones, 10 A Neurochemical Approach to Elucidate Metabotropic vs. Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Activities in Rat Hippocampal Slices, 11 Radiotracer Labeling of Brain Slices, 12 The Pharmacology of Excitotoxins and Energy Deprivation in Hippocampal Slices, 13 Delayed Neuronal Injury in the Hippocampal Slice, 14 Gene Expression as an Index of Pathophysiology Associated with Slice Preparation, 15 Studies on Anoxic Depolarization, 16 The Use of Brain Slices in the Study of Free Radical Actions, 17 Using the In Vitro Hippocampal Slice as a Model to Teach Methods in Neurophysiology, Index

About the Author :
Avital Schurr, Ph.D., is a Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Schurr received his B.Sc. degree in Agriculture from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1967, his M.Sc. degree in biochemistry from Tel Aviv University in 1970, and his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Biology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, in 1977. From 1977 to 1979 and from 1979 to 1981 he was a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, respectively. Dr. Schurr was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in 1981, becoming an Associate Professor in 1986 and Professor in 1992. Dr. Schurr is the author of more than 120 publications, many of which describe the use of the rat hippocampal slice preparation in the study of cerebral hypoxia-ischemia and neuroprotection. The present book is the third one he has co-edited along with two special issues of the Journal of Neuroscience Methods, which are also devoted to brain slice preparations. Dr. Schurr has organized three International Conferences on Central Nervous System Slice Preparations since 1986. The last conference took place in Louisville in June of 1994. Benjamin M. Rigor, M.D., is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Rigor received his B.Sc. degree from the University of the Philippines in 1957 and his M.D. degree from the University of the East, Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center College of Medicine. From 1963 to 1965 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology, University of Kentucky Medical Center, where from 1965 to 1968 he was a Resident in Anesthesiology. In 1968, Dr. Rigor was appointed Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Kentucky Medical School. In 1970, he was appointed Acting Chairman and Associate Professor at the Department of Anesthesiology, New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry, and in 1971 he was appointed Professor and Chairman of that department. From 1974 to 1980, Dr. Rigor was the Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and in 1981 he became Professor and Chairman at the Department of Anesthesiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. In 1978, Dr. Rigor was named the Most Outstanding Filipino Physician in the United States in the Field of Medicine and Medical Practice. He is the Founder and Coordinator of Operation Philplast, Operation Rainbow, and Operation SMILE. Dr. Rigor is the author of more than 200 publications in the fields of anesthesia, analgesia, and cerebral ischemia.

Review :
"...a valuable resource for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and even principal investigators interested in learning how to apply brain slice technology to the study of neurological function." -Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism