Neurobiology For Dummies. Frank Amthor

way this book is organized allows you to find the information you need quickly, whether you want to look up information on a neural dysfunction of a friend or relative who has Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases or you want to find out what the brain’s thalamus actually does.

      Besides being a resource for any non-scientist inquisitive about the brain and nervous system, this book may be a useful accompanying text for students in undergraduate neurobiology courses because it’s both modular and functional. For example, many books talk about brain anatomy using massively long lists of obscurely named brain nuclei and tracts, but they don’t try to help you understand all these components as a functional system. Perception and behavioral neuroscience courses often neglect important aspects of cognitive processing, while cognitive science texts often give you little information about how neural activity actually supports cognition. This book is different. This book uses plain language and some very simple diagrams to show how important parts of the brain and nervous system function.

      Sidebars (text in gray boxes) and anything marked with a Technical Stuff icon are skippable. Also, within this book, you may notice some web addresses breaking across two lines of text. If you’re reading this book in print and you want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it’s noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist. If you’re reading this as an e-book, you’ve got it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

Foolish Assumptions

      As I wrote this book, I made some assumptions about you, the reader:

       You may be looking for information about a neurological disease or dysfunction, possibly affecting someone you know. You want access this information quickly in easy-to-understand chunks.

       You may be taking a college or professional course that covers some aspect of brain function, but the course or the text for the course doesn’t provide enough background information.

       You may be a beginning student in neuroscience, neurology, or neurosurgery who has already learned what’s in this book but you need to look up the basics quickly, maybe to explain it to a layperson. (Warning: If your patients notice you rifling through a copy of this book before recommending treatment options, they might request a second opinion.)

Icons Used in This Book

      I use icons in this book to help you find specific kinds of information. They include the following:

      

Anything marked with a Tip icon is a piece of information about an area of neurobiology that’s often misunderstood or easily confused.

      

The Remember icon highlights key concepts and principles that you need to remember to understand other areas of neurobiology.

      

The Research icon is about key studies that led to our current understanding of neurobiology. Sometimes pieces of research are just beautiful in their own right for their elegance and simplicity. Research info bits are nice to drop in conversations at cocktail parties — if you party with people nerdy enough to know a fair amount of neurobiology, at least.

      

The Technical Stuff icon is about a recent or surprising finding that is not necessarily crucial to understand the chapter but is interesting or counterintuitive in its own right. You can skip these paragraphs and get by just fine, but you may miss some of the more interesting products of research.

Beyond the Book

      In addition to the material in the print or e-book you’re reading right now, this product also comes with some access-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/neurobiology for interesting information on whether paralysis can be cured, whether the mind can be downloaded, whether cyborgs are possible, and more.

Also, check out www.dummies.com/extras/neurobiology for articles on everything from where consciousness exists in the brain to how vision can be restored to the blind.

Where to Go from Here

      You can start reading this book anywhere — you don’t have to read it in order from beginning to end. Still, Chapter 1 is a great place to start if you’re looking for an introduction to neurobiology. For more on common diseases and disorders, turn to Part IV. And if you’re short on time, Chapters 19 and 20 pack a powerful punch in not many pages.

      I’m always interested in hearing from readers, so whether you find an error or you’d like to make any other comments about this book, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Part I

      Getting Started with Neurobiology

      

For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to learn more and do more with For Dummies.

In this part …

       Find out what makes neurons different from other cells in the body.

       Discover the genetics common to all cells and what happens when neurons have genetic mutations.

       See what neurons need in order to be able to detect and respond to other neurons, substances in the environment, and energy.

       Look at how neurons communicate with each other using electrical current flowing through ion channels.

Chapter 1

      Welcome to the World of Neurobiology

      In This Chapter

      

Getting to know the neuron

      

Finding out how the nervous system is organized

      

Feeling cerebral with thoughts, learning, and memory

      

Seeing the effects of mental illness and developmental problems

      What makes you you? Your brain, most people would answer. Then what is it about your brain that makes you you? The brain is made of neurons. Worms have brains with neurons. So do dogs and monkeys. What about the brain distinguishes these animals from each other,