The English edition of this book has been prepared from the third Gem1an edition published in December 1974. The first two German editions, published in 1971 and 1972, respectively, were very well received in Germany. We hope that this English version will enjoy a similar popularity by students wishing to understand the essential concepts relevant to the fascinating field of neurophysiology. The evolution of this book has been unique. The first edition was based on a series of lectures presented for many years to first-year physiology students at the Universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim. These lectures were converted into a series of 38 programmed texts, and after extensive testing, published as a programmed textbook of neurophysiology (N europhysiologie programmiert, Springer-Verlag Heidelberg, 1971). Thereafter the present text was written and thoroughly brought up to date. Throughout this period all of the authors were members of the Department of Physiology in Heidel­ berg allowing for maximum cooperation at all stages of this endeavor. With regard to the English edition, I wish to express my apprecia­ tion to Mr. Derek Jordan and Mrs. Inge Jordan for translating this book, and to my colleagues Dr. Mark Rowe and Dr. Dean O. Smith for their valuable comments and suggestions on the English manuscript. I express my grateful thanks to the publishers, both in Heidelberg and New York, for their unfailing courtesy and for their extraordinary efficiency.

Inhalt

1 The Structure of the Nervous System.- 1.1 The Nerve Cells.- 1.2 Supporting and Alimentary Tissue.- 1.3 The Nerves.- 1.4 The Anatomy of the Central Nervous System (CNS).- 2 Excitation of Nerve and Muscle.- 2.1 Resting Potential.- 2.2 Resting Potential and NA+ Influx.- 2.3 The Sodium Pump.- 2.4 The Action Potential.- 2.5 Kinetics of Excitation.- 2.6 Electrotonus and Stimulus.- 2.7 Propagation of the Action Potential.- 3 Synaptic Transmission.- 3.1 The Neuromuscular Junction: Example of a Chemical Synapse.- 3.2 The Quantal Nature of Chemical Transmission.- 3.3 Central Excitatory Synapses.- 3.4 Central Inhibitory Synapses.- 4 The Physiology of Small Groups of Neurons, Reflexes.- 4.1 Typical Neuronal Circuits.- 4.2 The Monosynaptic Reflex Arc.- 4.3 Polysynaptic Motor Reflexes.- 5 Muscles.- 5.1 Contraction of the Muscle.- 5.2 Dependence of Muscle Contraction on Fiber Length and Velocity of Contraction.- 5.3 Electromechanical Coupling.- 5.4 Regulation of Muscular Contraction.- Motor Systems.- 6.1 Spinal Motor Systems I: Roles of Muscle Spindles and Tendon Organs.- 6.2 Spinal Motor Systems II: Polysynaptic Motor Reflexes; the Flexor Reflex.- 6.3 The Functional Anatomy of Supramedullary Motor Centers.- 6.4 Reflex Control of the Body's Posture in Space.- 6.5 Motor Functions of the Cerebrum and the Cerebellum.- 7 Sensory System.- 7.1 Transformation of Stimuli by Receptors.- 7.2 Afferent Nerves to the Spinal Cord and Their Spinal Connections, Ascending Pathways.- 7.3 The Thalamocortical Projection of the Sensory Periphery.- 7.4 Electroencephalogram (EEG) and the Conscious State.- 7.5 The Sensory System Seen as a Communications Network.- 8 The Autonomic Nervous System.- 8.1 Functional Anatomy of the Peripheral Autonomic Nervous System and of its Spinal Reflex Centers.- 8.2 The Reactions of the Smooth Muscle to Stretching, Acetylcholine, Adrenaline, and Neural Stimulation.- 8.3 The Antagonistic Effects of Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Activity on the Autonomic Effectors.- 8.4 Central Nervous Regulation of the Autonomic Effectors.- 8.5 The Hypothalamus. The Regulation of Body Temperature and Total Body Water.- 8.6 The Triggering and the Integration of Elementary Behavioral Patterns in the Hypothalamus.- Answer Key.