The neuron doctrine, first formulated in 1891, states that the brain is constructed of individual neurons, organized into functioning circuits that mediate behavior.
It is the fundamental principal that underlies all of neuroscience and clinical neurology.
Foundations of the Neuron Doctrine gives an authoritative account of how this theory was the product of an explosion of histological studies and vigorous debates near the end of the nineteenth century by an extraordinary group of scientists, led by Santiago Ramon y Cajal of Spain, using a selective stain discovered by Camillo Golgi of Italy.
They were the first to describe the distinctive branching patterns of nerve cells, providing evidence that the cells interact as individual units to form circuits, opposed however by Golgi, who held out for a view that the nerve cells form syncytial networks.
Studies in the 1950s appeared to confirm the nerve cell as an individual unit, as embodied in the neuron doctrine, which became the basis for the rise of concepts of normal and disordered neural function since then.
This 25th Anniversary Edition is timely.
Recent studies are showing a much greater degree of complexity in neuronal organization, so that the debate of neuron versus network is again coming to the fore in neuroscience research.
Unique to this Anniversary Edition is the inclusion of commentaries by distinguished international leaders - Marina Bentivoglio, Xavier De Felipe, Sten Grillner, Paolo Mazzarello, Larry Swanson, and Rafael Yuste - on the continuing relevance of the neuron doctrine for modern studies of the brain at all levels, from genes and molecules to microcircuits, neural networks, and behavior.
As this new wave of modern studies expands our concepts of nervous function as the basis of behavior, Foundations of the Neuron Doctrine will be a unique source providing conceptual continuity from classical times to the present and into the future.
With commentaries fromMarina Bentivoglio Paolo Mazzarello Javier DeFelipe Larry Swanson Sten Grillner Rafael Yuste
By:
Gordon M. Shepherd (MD DPhil MD DPhil Yale University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 168mm,
Spine: 27mm
Weight: 778g
ISBN: 9780190259389
ISBN 10: 0190259388
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 15 December 2015
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface Commentaries on The Neuron Doctrine Cajal, Golgi and Ariadne's Needle - Marina Bentivoglio Reflections on the Neuron Doctrine - Javier DeFelipe The Neuron Doctrine Revisited: A Personal Account - Sten Grillner Camillo Golgi, Foundations of the Neuron Doctrine, and the History of Neurosciences - Paolo Mazzarello Some Reflections on the Neuron Doctrine - Larry Swanson 1. Introduction 2. From the Beginnings to the Cell Theory 3. Do Nerve Cells Belong in the Cell Theory? 4. Nerve Cells or Nerve Nets? 5. Kolliker Gives In 6. Support Builds for Network 7. The Nerve Cell Studies of Freud 8. The Revolutionary Method of Golgi 9. A Neuron Theory Begins to Take Form: His, Forel, Nansen 10. Ramón y Cajal: The Shock of Recognition 11. The Early Discoveries of Cajal 12. The Laws of Cajal 13. Joining the Mainstream 14. The Neuron Doctrine 15. The Law of Dynamic Polarization 16. Controversy 17. The Synapse and the Growth Cone 18. Forging a Consensus 19. Confrontation in Stockholm 20. Modern Revisions of the Neuron Doctrine Comment on Sources References Index
Gordon M. Shepherd is Professor of Neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine. He carries out research on the olfactory pathway as a simple system for the microcircuit organization of the brain. He is a former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurophysiology and Journal of Neuroscience. His books include Handbook of Brain Microcircuits (edited with Sten Grillner) and Creating Modern Neuroscience.
