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Within the CNS and in the periphery, serotonin (5-HT) participates in a number of functions including cognition, mood, sleep-wake rhythms, intestinal inflammation. 5-HT receptors can be classified into at least seven classes, designated 5-HT1 to 5-HT7. Since its identification, the 5-HT7 receptor has been the subject of intense research efforts, driven by its presence in functionally-relevant brain regions and in the gut. The availability of selective agonists and antagonists, in combination with genetically-modified mice lacking 5-HT7 receptors, has allowed so far a better understanding about the patho-physiological roles of this receptor. This Topic will review the state-of-the-art from st...
How the cerebral cortex operates near a critical phase transition point for optimum performance. Individual neurons have limited computational powers, but when they work together, it is almost like magic. Firing synchronously and then breaking off to improvise by themselves, they can be paradoxically both independent and interdependent. This happens near the critical point: when neurons are poised between a phase where activity is damped and a phase where it is amplified, where information processing is optimized, and complex emergent activity patterns arise. The claim that neurons in the cortex work best when they operate near the critical point is known as the criticality hypothesis. In th...
Offers an up-to-date account of the latest research findings concerned with the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression in neuronal and glial cells under different conditions. The book explores the cellular and neurobiological aspects of important phenomena of the nervous system and its role in health, disease and injury. Contributions from prominent scientists in the field address a variety of specific topics concerned with gene expression in the nervous system--from growth, hormonal and trophic factors to neural tissue reactions in injury or aging.
The application to Biology of the methodologies developed in Physics is attracting an increasing interest from the scientific community. It has led to the emergence of a new interdisciplinary field, called Physical Biology, with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the biological mechanisms at molecular and cellular levels. Statistical Mechanics in particular plays an important role in the development of this new field. For this reason, the XXth session of the famous Sitges Conference on Statistical Physics was dedicated to "Physical Biology: from Molecular Interactions to Cellular Behavior". As is by now tradition, a number of lectures were subsequently selected, expanded and updat...
Proceedings of the 11th European Society for Neurochemistry Meeting held in Groningen, The Netherlandes, June 15-20, 1996
Understanding how the brain works is undoubtedly the greatest challenge for human intelligence and one of the most ambitious goals of contemporary science. We are certainly far from this goal, but significant advancements in several fields of Neuroscience and Neurobiology are being obtained at an increasing pace. The NATO ASI School in Neurobiology, held in Erice May 2-12,1995, as the 23rd Course of the International School of Biophysics, provided an update on three basic topics: Biophysics and Molecular Biology ofIon Channels, Sensory Transduction, and Higher Order Functions. Current knowledge on these subjects was covered by formal lectures and critical discussions between lecturers and pa...