Neural Control of Rhythmic Movements in Vertebrates (Wiley Series in Neurobiology) - Softcover

Cohen, Avis H.; Rossignol, Serge; Grillner, Sten

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471819689 ISBN 13: 9780471819684

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1988

Synopsis

Electroreception Edited by Theodore Holmes Bullock and Walter Heiligenberg Presents recent findings in the research on modality of animal perception, particularly the ability to sense feeble electrical fields. Includes a new treatment of electric organs and their control, examination of receptors and their ionic mechanisms, and discussion of regeneration of the spinal cord. Uses electric fish as models. 1986 (0 471–81800–3) 722 pp. Neurobiology of Taste and Smell Thomas E. Finger and Wayne L. Silver A survey of subdisciplines within the field of neurobiology and an overview of current issues, recent findings, and future research, and an excellent introduction to the specific study of the chemical senses, including olfactory, vomeronasal, and gustatory systems. 1987 (0 471–81799–6) 449 pp. Higher Brain Functions Recent Explorations of the Brain’s Emergent Properties Edited by Steven P. Wise Pushing at the frontiers of knowledge, the best minds in the field of neurophysiology develop original ideas first presented in a monograph by Evarts, Shinoda, and Wise, Neurophysiological Approaches to Higher Brain Functions. Organized into three sections, Motor Aspects of Higher Brain Function, Effects of Preparatory Set, and Cerebral Organization, this volume explores important and interesting research directed toward questions concerning higher brain functions that lie beyond the traditional concerns of sensor and motor physiology. 1987 (0 471–01111–8) 384 pp. Synaptic Function Edited by Gerald M. Edelman, W. Einar Gall, and W. Maxwell Cowan Examines synaptic function by focusing on five areas—biochemical and biophysical mechanisms of change in pre–and postsynaptic cells; the neurochemicstry of transmitters and their release; the interactions of cells in small networks; synaptic plasticity related to long–term changes; and theoretical models of synaptic function. 1987 (0 471–85557–X) 944 pp.

About this title

About the Author

About the editors Avis H. Cohen, PhD, is a Senior Research Associate in the Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University. Her research includes studies of the lamprey central pattern generator for locomotion, spinal regeneration, and models of coupled non–linear oscillators. Serge Rossignol, MD, PhD, is Professor of Physiology and a member of the MRC group in Neurological Sciences at the Université de Montréal. He studies sensory–motor integration during locomotion in higher vertebrates. Sten Grillner, MD, PhD, is Professor of Physiology and head of the Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. His work on cats and lamprey is devoted to the study of the cellular basis of vertebrate locomotion.

From the Inside Flap

During the 1960s, important discoveries were made regarding the neural origin of rhythmic motor acts. The evolution of "simple" invertebrate preparations and experimentally amenable vertebrate preparations make it clear that different rhythmic motor patterns are coordinated by an interaction between a complex neuronal network often referred to as a central pattern generator (CPG) residing within the central nervous system, and peripheral signals arising as a consequence of the movements themselves. Today, we have reached a level of knowledge in the vertebrate sphere that enables us to trace specific motor patterns and understand the organizational features underlying the motor acts a level that allows us to delve into more meaningful questions about the cellular basis of behavior. Drawing upon a wide range of organisms, movements, and perspectives, this book offers a unique combination of experimental and theoretical analyses (yet requiring a minimum background in mathematics) of the neural control of rhythmic movement. In the first section, Neural Control of Rhythmic Movements in Vertebrates explains the principles involved in the relatively simple nervous system of invertebrates to help readers better understand vertebrate systems in subsequent chapters. Drawing from the wealth of available data on invertebrate studies, the editors outline the structural elements of CPGs and their functional roles, and describe how neuromodulators function to regulate and restructure the circuits. Next, the book compares the control of locomotion and scratch, and discusses sensory afferents and their control of locomotion, respiration and mastication. It also examines:

• Locomotion across vertebrates in order to gain insights into the organization and evolution of the locomotor pattern generator
• Undulatory movements of several species with a more in–depth treatment of the lamprey pattern generator for swimming
• The principles and mechanisms underlying the generation of respiration and mastication

The last section offers a unique view of theoretical and modeling techniques that is useful to a wide range of fields. In simple, mathematical terms, it lays out models and perspectives on systems of coupled non–linear oscillators. It also reviews and evaluates the role of synthetic models which have been the more traditional method for conceptualizing the structure of neural circuits, and presents an analytic approach to the study of motor output in order to help extract some basic features out of seemingly more complex data. Neural Control of Rhythmic Movements in Vertebrates is an invaluable addition to the growing literature on this important new area in neuroscience that will benefit neuroscientists, biologists, bioengineers, medical doctors, physiologists, kinesiologists, and applied mathematicians alike.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471819689
• ISBN 13: 9780471819684
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 500