New Book Presents Neurobiology From An Evolutionary Perspective

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New Book Presents Neurobiology From An Evolutionary Perspective

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=66556

Cockroaches, leeches, and snails are ordinarily thought of as creepy

pests or as an exotic dinner. But to biologists who are interested

in behavior, memory, sensation, and other neurological phenomena,

these organisms provide valuable information about the inner

workings of complex nervous systems.

A new book, An Introduction to Nervous Systems, recently released by

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, presents the fundamental

principles of neurobiology from an evolutionary perspective. It

focuses on invertebrates - from simple, single-celled bacteria to

more complex organisms such as flies, jellyfish, and crabs. Brimming

with illustrations and written in a highly engaging manner, it is

designed to introduce undergraduate and graduate students to the

field of neurobiology. It is ideal for use as a supplemental

textbook.

" The single-cell protozoan Paramecium, which has been likened to a

neuron that swims, has much in common with our own nerve cells, "

writes the author, Ralph J. Greenspan, in the Introduction to the

book. " Neurons are for signaling...and the nature of those signals

appears to have evolved very early - before multicellularity - and

to have been well preserved ever since. "

The book starts with simpler organisms with more primitive

neurological mechanisms, and shows how these mechanisms produce

increasing neural complexity in higher species. It ends with a

discussion of what is universal about nervous systems and what may

be required, neurobiologically, to be human.

" The capabilities of invertebrates have traditionally been

underestimated, " writes Greenspan. " Perhaps this is because they are

not warm and fuzzy, or because they do not make very affectionate

pets...For whatever reason, it has taken us an inordinately long

time to realize that even the simplest animals have the capacity for

modifying their behavior by adjusting the activities of their

nervous systems. "

Topics include ionic signals, chemical signals, coordination, flight

and navigation, mating and courtship, reflexes, circadian rhythms,

instincts, plasticity and adaptation, visual ecology, and acoustic

communication. For more information about An Introduction to Nervous

Systems and a complete Table of Contents, see

www.cshlpress.com/link/InNerv.htm.

About the book:

An Introduction to Nervous Systems

©2007 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 172 pp., illus.,

bibliography, glossary, index:

-- Paperback ($45): ISBN 978-087969821-8

-- Hardcover ($65): ISBN 978-087969757-0

About the author:

Ralph J. Greenspan is the Dorothy and B. Cullman Fellow in

Experimental Neurobiology at The Neurosciences Institute in San

Diego. He has been awarded fellowships by the Helen Hay Whitney

Foundation, the Searle Scholars Program, the McKnight Foundation,

the Sloan Foundation, and the Klingenstein Foundation. In addition

to numerous research papers, he has authored an article for

Scientific American and several books, including Genetic

Neurobiology with Hall and and Fly Pushing:

The Theory and Practice of Drosophila Genetics.