Apoptosis in Neurobiology


Book Description

The rapid growth of the study of apoptosis-mechanism-driven, regulated cell death-has created an urgent need for reliable documentation of the different approaches to and methods of studying the various aspects of the field. Apoptosis in Neurobiology is an important resource for researchers in this emerging frontier of biomedical study. This volume allows the uninitiated neuroscientist intellectual and practical access to the study of apoptosis, with special consideration to the nervous system. The first section concentrates on conceptual approaches to the study of apoptosis in neurobiology and its significance to the nervous system. The second section provides a user-friendly approach to methods and techniques in the study of apoptosis as applied to neurobiology.




Translational Research in Traumatic Brain Injury


Book Description

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a significant source of death and permanent disability, contributing to nearly one-third of all injury related deaths in the United States and exacting a profound personal and economic toll. Despite the increased resources that have recently been brought to bear to improve our understanding of TBI, the developme




The Aging Mind


Book Description

Possible new breakthroughs in understanding the aging mind that can be used to benefit older people are now emerging from research. This volume identifies the key scientific advances and the opportunities they bring. For example, science has learned that among older adults who do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias, cognitive decline may depend less on loss of brain cells than on changes in the health of neurons and neural networks. Research on the processes that maintain neural health shows promise of revealing new ways to promote cognitive functioning in older people. Research is also showing how cognitive functioning depends on the conjunction of biology and culture. The ways older people adapt to changes in their nervous systems, and perhaps the changes themselves, are shaped by past life experiences, present living situations, changing motives, cultural expectations, and emerging technology, as well as by their physical health status and sensory-motor capabilities. Improved understanding of how physical and contextual factors interact can help explain why some cognitive functions are impaired in aging while others are spared and why cognitive capability is impaired in some older adults and spared in others. On the basis of these exciting findings, the report makes specific recommends that the U.S. government support three major new initiatives as the next steps for research.




Cell Death


Book Description

A million cells in our bodies die every second--they commit suicide by activating a process called apoptosis or other forms of programmed cell death. These mechanisms are essential for survival of the body as a whole and play critical roles in various developmental processes, the immune system, and cancer. In this second edition of Douglas Green's essential book on cell death, Green retains the bottom-up approach of the first edition, starting with the enzymes that carry out the execution (caspases) and their cellular targets before examining the machinery that connects them to signals that cause cell death. He also describes the roles of cell death in development, neuronal selection, and the development of self-tolerance in the immune system, as well as how the body uses cell death to defend against cancer. The new edition is fully updated to cover the many recent advances in our understanding of the death machinery and signals that control cell death. These include the mechanisms regulating necroptosis, mitophagy, and newly identified processes, such as ferroptosis. The book will thus be of great interest to researchers actively working in the field, as well as biologists and undergraduates encountering the topic for the first time.




Means to an End


Book Description

One million cells in our bodies die every secondthey commit suicide by a mechanism known as apoptosis. Apoptosis is essential for survival of the body as a whole and has critical roles in various developmental processes and the immune system. In Means To An End, Douglas Green provides a clear and comprehensive view of apoptosis and other cell death mechanisms. Taking a bottom-up approach, he starts with the enzymes that perform the execution process (a family of proteases termed caspases) and examines their cellular targets and the ways in which they are activated. He then looks at the molecular machinery that links signals that cause cell death to caspases, emphasizing the importance of the BCL-2 family of proteins and the role of cytochrome c released from mitochondria. The final stage of the process, phagocytic removal of dead or dying cells, is also covered. Green outlines the roles of apoptosis and death mechanisms such as necrosis in embryogenesis, neuronal selection, and the development of self-tolerance in the immune system. In addition, he explains how cell death defends the body against cancer and traces the evolutionary origins of the apoptosis machinery back over a billion years. The book is thus of great use to all biologists interested in how cells function in the context of multicellular organisms and will appeal to everyone from undergraduates encountering the topic for the first time to researchers actively working in the field.




Discovering the Brain


Book Description

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."




Magnesium in the Central Nervous System


Book Description

The brain is the most complex organ in our body. Indeed, it is perhaps the most complex structure we have ever encountered in nature. Both structurally and functionally, there are many peculiarities that differentiate the brain from all other organs. The brain is our connection to the world around us and by governing nervous system and higher function, any disturbance induces severe neurological and psychiatric disorders that can have a devastating effect on quality of life. Our understanding of the physiology and biochemistry of the brain has improved dramatically in the last two decades. In particular, the critical role of cations, including magnesium, has become evident, even if incompletely understood at a mechanistic level. The exact role and regulation of magnesium, in particular, remains elusive, largely because intracellular levels are so difficult to routinely quantify. Nonetheless, the importance of magnesium to normal central nervous system activity is self-evident given the complicated homeostatic mechanisms that maintain the concentration of this cation within strict limits essential for normal physiology and metabolism. There is also considerable accumulating evidence to suggest alterations to some brain functions in both normal and pathological conditions may be linked to alterations in local magnesium concentration. This book, containing chapters written by some of the foremost experts in the field of magnesium research, brings together the latest in experimental and clinical magnesium research as it relates to the central nervous system. It offers a complete and updated view of magnesiums involvement in central nervous system function and in so doing, brings together two main pillars of contemporary neuroscience research, namely providing an explanation for the molecular mechanisms involved in brain function, and emphasizing the connections between the molecular changes and behavior. It is the untiring efforts of those magnesium researchers who have dedicated their lives to unraveling the mysteries of magnesiums role in biological systems that has inspired the collation of this volume of work.




Neuronal Cell Death


Book Description

This volume represents a valuable and readily reproducible collection of established and emerging techniques for neuronal cell death research. Conveniently divided into four parts, sections cover a series of techniques for the molecular, structural, functional and genomic characterization of dying neurons, a number of protocols that are of primary interest in neuropathology and in experimental neuropathology, a series of gene engineering techniques to obtain and manipulate neuronal stem cells and progenitors, to prepare HSV-1 vectors for the gene therapy, and to CNS transplantation of bone marrow stem cells, and finally, some very interesting protocols for the study of cell death in non-mammalian models. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Neuronal Cell Death: Methods and Protocols seeks to serve a large audience of scientists that are currently active in the field or are willing to enter such an exciting and still expanding area of neurobiology.




Developmental Neurobiology


Book Description

Developmental Neuroscience is one of the six core disciplines in Neuroscience, and yet no single volume, non-textbook reference exists on the market that provides researchers with more in-depth, high-level information on developmental neurobiology. Currently, anyone interested in the field at a higher level must sift through review articles published frequently and the more specific handbooks that focus on aspects of development rather than the field as a whole. This reference is the first of its kind to fill this need. It pulls together the relevant articles on the topic from the 10-volume Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (Academic Press, 2008) and serves as an affordable and immediate resource for scientists, postdocs, graduate students with an interest beyond the basic textbook materials on the subject. - The first and only comprehensive, single-volume reference for developmental neuroscience that goes beyond the basic textbook information - The 93 chapters cover topics ranging from cell fate determination, path finding, synapse generation, neural stem cells, to neurodegeneration and regeneration, carefully selected from the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience by one of the great developmental neuroscientists, Greg Lemke - The best researchers in the field provide their conclusions in the context of the latest experimental results




Cellular Aging and Cell Death


Book Description

Cellular AGING AND CELL DEATH Edited by Nikki J. Holbrook, George R. Martin, and Richard A.Lockshin Cellular Aging and Cell Death provides a thorough understanding ofthe mechanisms responsible for cellular aging, covering the recentresearch on programmed cell death and senescence, and describingtheir role in the control of cell proliferation and the agingprocess. This one-of-a-kind book is the first to combine the twohottest research areas of cell biology into one comprehensivetext. Leading experts contribute to give readers an authoritativeoverview of the distinct fields of cellular aging and programmedcell death, as well as to demonstrate how both fields are criticalto understanding the aging process. They address the large andgrowing interest in apoptosis, especially with regard to themolecular signals that induce and regulate programmed cell death,and the role of apoptosis in a variety of age-associated diseasesand disabilities. Throughout the book, a strong emphasis is placedon the interrelationship of the molecular, cellular, andphysiological aspects of senescence. Individual chapters discuss such topics as the role and regulationof apoptosis in development, the potential impact of cell death onsuch postmitotic tissues as nerve and muscle, and suggest thatprogrammed cell death plays an important role in both pathologicaland nonpathological aspects of aging, including neurodegenerativediseases. One important chapter focuses on the most recent research involvingthe study of telomeres, whose reduction in length with age and celldivision may underlie cellular senescence. The subject of neuronalcell death is also put into the perspective of aging. Cellular Aging and Cell Death bridges the rapidly growing fields ofcellular aging and programmed cell death. This thorough, yetconcise book will be of particular interest to graduate studentsand researchers within the fields of cell and developmentalbiology, neurobiology, immunology, and physiology. Physicians andmedical students involved in the fields of gerontology andpathology will also find this an informative reference.