ABSTRACT

Thanks to tremendous technical advances in molecular biology and cellular imaging after those in electrophysiology, there is now a deep understanding of the physiology of nerve cells and their synaptic interconnections. The complexity of the brain emerges from the communication and interaction between billions of these elements. This book explores systematically and didactically the details of neuronal physiology, covering membrane biophysics, receptor physiology, sensory transduction and synaptic transmission with its selective pharmacology. Readers of the book will be fully equipped to understand the functions and possibilities of the key units of the brain’s parallel computations.

chapter Chapter 1|28 pages

Signaling in the Brain: An Introductory Chapter

part I|101 pages

Ion Movement in the Cell

chapter Chapter 2|20 pages

Resting Membrane Potential

chapter Chapter 4|30 pages

Voltage-Gated Channels

chapter Chapter 5|23 pages

The Sodium Action Potential

part III|134 pages

Synaptic Transmission

chapter Chapter 10|37 pages

Neurotransmitter Release

chapter Chapter 12|19 pages

Synaptic Integration

chapter Chapter 13|44 pages

Synaptic Plasticity

part IV|53 pages

Methods

chapter Chapter 14|43 pages

Studying Neurons at Work

chapter Chapter 10|7 pages

Software Resources for Neuroscience Research