Thalamus - Tapa dura

The last five years have shown an explosion of research interest into the thalamus, offering confirmation of its status as a region of the brain with major functional significance. Morphological and immunohistochemical studies have provided important data on its synaptic organisation and chemistry. Electrophysiological investigations, in vivo and in vitro, have allowed remarkable progress in defining the intrinsic neuronal properties and network operations that underlie the low and high frequency oscillations which accompany changes in attention and conscious state; additionally, they have continued to provide ever new insight into the transfer function of thalamic cells. Finally, combined morphological and physiological studies have shed light on the modulatory systems that contribute to the readiness of thalamic neurons to respond during activated states. The two volumes of Thalamus put these advances into sharp focus, as well as offering insight into future avenues of research.

The first volume in this set of three deals with the structure, the electrophysiology, the functional modes, and the control systems of thalamic nuclei. It provides a comprehensive update on the striking advances in current knowledge of thalamic functions. The second edited volume consists of twelve chapters, on thalamic function and dysfunction from animal experiments, namely, thespecific features of sensory and motor thalamic nuclei as well as their modulation from regulatory systems, the development of normal thalamic oscillations into paroxysmal episodes, the modelling of thalamic rhythms, the physiology of pain pathways, and the memory disturbances after thalamic lesions. Volume three deals with the thalamus in humans, including structural systematization, functional organization, coherent rhythms, language, degenerative diseases, pain processes, motor diseases, and schizophrenia.