Book Description:
Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which cells of the nervous system signal to one another and to non-neuronal cells such as muscles or glands. A chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle cell is called a neuromuscular junction.

Chemical synapses allow the neurons of the central nervous system to form interconnected neural circuits. They are thus crucial to the biological computations that underlie perception and thought. They also provide the means through which the nervous system connects to and controls the other systems of the body.

The human brain contains a huge number of chemical synapses, with young children having about 1016 synapses (10,000 trillion[1].). This number declines with age, stabilizing by adulthood. Estimates for an adult vary from 1015 to 5 × 1015 synapses (1,000 to 5,000 trillion).

We’ve partnered with Copyright Clearance Center to make it easy for you to request permissions to reuse Nova content.
For more information, click here or click the "Get Permission" button below to link directly to this book on Copyright Clearance Center's website.

Table of Contents:
Preface

Chapter 1.- Structural Substrates of Synaptic Plasticity; pp. 1-45
(Howard S. Donohue, Dept. of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest Univ., Sch. of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, David K. Ryugo, Dept. of Otolaryngology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Baltimore, MD)

Chapter 2.- Artificial Synapses in Neuronal Networks; pp. 47-96
(Attila Szucs, Inst. for Nonlinear Science, Univ. of California, San Diego, Balaton Limnological Research Inst. of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

Chapter 3.- Synaptic Alterations of the Striatum: Two different models of Dopamine Deafferentation; pp. 97-132
(Maria Rosa Avila-Costa, Veronica Anaya-Martinez, Jose Luis Ordonez-Librado,FES Iztacala, UNAM, Lab. de Neuromorfologia, Neurociencias)

Chapter 4.- Applying Control System Modelling to understand how Genetic Variation influences Serotonin Function and Behavior;
pp. 133-171
(Scott F. Stoltenberg, Dept. of Psychology Black Hills State Univ., Spearfish, SD, Parthasarathi Nag, Dept. of Mathematics Black Hills State Univ., Spearfish, SD)

Chapter 5.- Analysis of Neuronal Networks by using Tetanus Toxin-derived Proteins; pp. 173-191
(Sylvie Roux, Jordi Molgo, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lab. de Neurobiologie Cellulaire et Moleculaire, Yvette, France)

Chapter 6.- Neurosecretory Axon Terminals: Special Nerve Endings of the Central Nervous System for release of Bioactive Molecules;
pp. 193-215
(B. Vigh, Z. Fejer, C. David, Dept. of Human Morphology and Developmental Biology, Semmelweis Univ., Bedapest, Hungary)

Chapter 7.- Calcium-dependent regulation of Vesicle Pools and Exocytosis by Synapsins; pp. 217-237
(Maria Bykhovskaia, Yulia Akbergenova, Dmitry Samigullin, Lehigh Univ., Dept. of Biological Sciences, Bethlehem, PA)

Chapter 8.- Electrophysiological Properties of Parallel Fiber Synapses in Vivo; pp. 239-252
(Henrik Jorntell, Dept. Experimental Medical Science, Lund Univ., Lund, Sweden)

Chapter 9.- Dendro- and Synapto-architecture of the Field CA3 of the Rat Hippocampus; pp. 253-279
(Seiji Matsuda, Dept. of Anatomy, Ehime Univ. Grad. School of Medicine, Toon, Ehime, Japan, Yasushi Kobayashi, Dept. of Anatomy, Nat. Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, Norio Ishizuka, Dept. of Brain Structure, Tokyo Metropolitan Inst. for Neuroscience, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan)

Chapter 10.- Input-Output Organization of the Central Nervous Network; pp. 281-293
(Toshifumi Kumai, Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Biology, Grad. School of Oral Medicine, Matsumoto Dental Univ., Shiojiri, Japan)

Index