This single volume provides a comprehensive description of oligodendroglia, the neural cells responsible for myelination of axons throughout the central nervous system. Myelinated axons create the white matter (connectome) of the human brain and spinal cord, which connect and synchronize hundreds of billions of neurons, thus defining the information processing function of the central nervous system. Oligodendrocytes and myelination play an essential role in regulating every bodily function and behavior. Damage to white matter, myelin, and oligodendrocytes results in severe diseases of the CNS. Pathology and Pathophysiology of Oligodendroglia, presented by the major authorities in the field, is the very first reference to combine, under a single cover, a full and detailed description of the physiology and pathophysiology of oligodendroglia, with a particular emphasis on neurodegenerative diseases.
Table of Contents:
Preface.- Chapter 1: Oligodendroglial lineage, myelin and white matter: defining the connectome of the human brain.- Part I: Physiology of oligodendroglia.- Chapter 2: Evolution of myelin and oligodendroglia.- Chapter 3: Development of oligodendroglia and myelin.- Chapter 4: Seeing is believing: insights into myelination and remyelination in zebrafish.- Chapter 5: Morphology of oligodendroglial cells and myelin.- Chapter 6: Physiology of oligodendroglial cells.- Chapter 7: Biochemistry and structure of myelin.- Chapter 8: Plasticity of myelination.- Part II: Pathophysiology of oligodendroglia.- Chapter 9: Demyelination and remyelination: General principles.- Chapter 10: Leukomalacia.- Chapter 11: White matter injury in the brain and spinal cord.- Chapter 12: Multiple sclerosis.- Chapter 13: Ageing and neurodegeneration of oligodendroglia.- Chapter 14: Protein pathologies in oligodendroglia in neurodegenerative diseases.- Chapter 15: Mental disorders.- Chapter 16: Neuromyelitis Optica.- Epilogue.
About the Author :
Chenju Yi, MD, Ph.D. is Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology at the Seventh Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, China. She obtained MD and PhD from Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, respectively. She carried out postdoctoral research mentored by Prof. Christian Giaume at the Collège de France in Paris, followed by a Senior Research Fellowship at National University of Singapore. Her research has made groundbreaking contributions to understanding the mechanisms by which glia drive the pathophysiology of brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, with a particular focus on glial connexins.
Alexei Verkhratsky, MD, Ph.D., D.Sc. is Professor of Neurophysiology in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health at The University of Manchester in Manchester, England. Verkhratsky is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of cellular neurophysiology, best known for his contributions to our knowledge of the physiology and pathophysiology of neuroglia.
Jianqin Niu, Ph.D., is Professor of Neuroscience in the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. Niu graduated from the Third Military Medical University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at both the Collège de France in Paris and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). His research primarily investigates oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), exploring both their myelinating and non-myelinating roles within the central nervous system. His work emphasizes cellular mechanisms and pathological processes underlying neurological and psychiatric disorders, with particular focus on how OPCs interact with other glial cell populations to influence disease pathogenesis.
Arthur M. Butt, Ph.D., is Professor of Cellular Neurophysiology at the University of Portsmouth, U.K.. He obtained his PhD on the blood brain barrier in King's College London and the Marine Laboratories Plymouth. After postdoctoral research on glial cells and the blood brain barrier as a Grass Fellow at Wood's Hole Marine Laboratories and Yale University USA, Arthur obtained his first independent position at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals, London, and later obtained his personal chair at King's College London. He is an international expert in glial cell biology.
