The Neuron

Abstract

The Fourth Edition of The Neuron provides a comprehensive first course in the cell and molecular biology of nerve cells. It begins with properties of the many newly discovered ion channels that have emerged through mapping of the genome and which shape the way a single neuron generates varied patterns of electrical activity. It also covers the molecular mechanisms that convert electrical activity into the secretion of neurotransmitter hormones at synaptic junctions between neurons. It discusses the biochemical pathways that are linked to the action of neurotransmitters and that can alter the cellular properties of neurons or sensory cells that transduce information from the outside world into the electrical code used by neurons, and the rapidly expanding knowledge of the molecular factors that induce an undifferentiated cell to become a neuron, and then guide it to form appropriate synaptic connections with its partners. Also addressed is the role of ongoing experience and activity in shaping these connections, and the mechanisms thought to underlie the phenomena of learning and memory.