Brain Plasticity

This book is dedicated to the memory of two colleagues and friends, Amico Big nami and Hendrick Vander Los. They were both pioneers in their fields: Bignami on on togenesis and function of neuroglia, and Van der Los on brain plasticity and neuronal circuitry. Their ideas are further pursued by the authors in this book. Some of the chapters are products of a conference dedicated to these two scientists entitled "Recent Advances in Neurobiology: Plasticity and Regeneration." The conference was organized by the Insti tute of Developmental Neuroscience and Aging and sponsored by the Region della Valle d' Aosta. Also, several chapters are written by colleagues who knew well either Amico or Hendrick and were invited to contribute to this dedication. The book is divided in four sections. The first part covers neurons, neuroglia includ ing microglia, their plasticity and phenotypic expression, and specific functions and inter actions. It is now established that neuroglia are an intimate component of the neuronal environment and thought to regulate several neuronal functions. More recently microglia have become prominent as the immune cells in the CNS. This part contributes new infor mation for these cellular interactions. The second part deals with neuronal and glial cell plasticity as it relates to regeneration and neurodegeneration, more or less an extension of Part I. In recent years the role of transplantation in regeneration has become promising.

Klappentext

Proceedings of the Conference on Recent Advances in Neurobiology: Plasticity and Regeneration held in St. Vincent, Italy, October 9-11 1995

Inhalt
I. Regulatory Mechanisms of Expression of Neuronal and Glial Phenotypes.- I. Genes Controlling Neural Fate and Differentiation.- 2. Neuronal Plasticity in Development: Lessons from Ethanol Neurotoxicity during Embryogenesis.- 3. Plasticity in Astrocytic Phenotypes: A Role For PKC, Tyrosine Kinases, and Cytoskeleton Signaling.- 4. Neuron-Glia Cross Talk in Rat Striatum after Transient Forebrain Ischemia.- 5. Regulation of Oligodendrocyte Differentiation by Fibroblast Growth Factors.- 6. Features and Functions of Human Microglia Cells.- 7. Migration and Proliferation of Mononuclear Phagocytes in the Central Nervous System.- 8. K+-Channels and Cytokines as Markers for Microglial Activation.- II. Neuronal Circuitry, Synaptic Plasticity, Regeneration.- 9. Anatomical and Functional Characteristics of Transplanted Monoaminergic Neurons in Paraplegic Rats.- 10. Regulation by Neurotransmitters of Glial Energy Metabolism.- 11. Dendritic Development of Visual Callosal Neurons.- 12. Neuronal and Non-Neuronal Plasticity in the Rat following Myenteric Denervation.- III. Neuronal Cell Death, Neuroprotection.- 13. Nerve Growth Factor and Oxidative Stress in the Nervous System.- 14. Role of Astrocytes in Glutamate Homeostasis: Implications for Excitotoxicity.- 15. Nerve Cell Death Induced by Ca2+ Ionophores in Dissociated Hippocampal Cultures: Protective Action of the NMDA Antagonist MK-801.- 16. Is Increased Neurotoxicity a Burden of the Ageing Brain?.- 17. Alzheimer Disease: From Molecular Biology to Therapy.- IV. Neurotrophins and Neuromodulators, Neurohormones, Cell Adhesion Molecules.- 18. Steroid and Protein Regulators of Glial Cell Proliferation.- 19. Estrogens Influence Growth, Maturation, and Amyloid ? Peptide Production in Neuroblastoma Cells and in a ?-APP TransfectedKidney 293 Cell Line.- 20. Role of Testosterone in the Activation of Sexual Behavior and Neuronal Circuitries in the Senescent Brain.- 21. Endogenous Opioids and Prenatal Determinants of Neuroplasticity.- 22. Brain Plasticity and the Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule (NCAM).