From neuron to brain: A cellular approach to the function of the nervous system

by John G. Nicholls and Stephe W. Kuffler

Book Overview

In the 25 years since From Neuron to Brain was first published, the authors' aim has remained constant—to describe how nerve cells go about their business of transmitting signals, how the signals are... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0878934448
• ISBN13: 9780878934447
• Release Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Sinauer Associates Inc.,U.S.
• Length: 651 Pages
• Weight: 3.06 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A great introductory book on neuroscience

I am a physics graduate student who happen to become interested in neuroscience. I had been searching for an introductory book when I stumbled upon this one. Although I am only half-way through the book right now, I could already tell that it is exactly what a newcomer to this field would need. With the terminology clearly defined, the book gives a very concise, clear, and logic description on the fundamentals. It further keeps one's interest high by relating the fundamental knowledges to everyday experiences. What I like most about this book is that it does not shy away from pointing out what is not yet known. With the last chapter devoted to "open questions", it presents the real questions to be answered. This book is really perfect. Highly recommended.

Clear, concise, helpful text for a beginning grad student!

I am a first year graduate student "accidentally" entering the field of neuroscience. I needed a basic text to help me "catch up". This book has been wonderful! The authors' have a great writing style- easy to read. More importantly, the authors are expert at choosing and presenting important, basic aspects of neurobiology to inexperienced neuroscientists without bogging the reader down with unnecessary and confusing detail. In particular, the authors thoroughly discuss ion channels and their role in neuronal communication, presenting electrophysiology as a valuable tool for studying these channels. This text was "just right" for me. However, if you are an advanced "neuroscientist", this text might be a bit on the "simple" side.

Neurophysiology (History & Evolution)

This book is similar in format and style to Principles of Neural Science by Kandel, Schwartz, & Jessell. Nicholls book is half the length of Kandel's, yet just as good. Colored drawings & diagrams are laced throughout the text. It is strongest in auditory physiology, synaptic transmission, vision physiology, & neural development. Clear graphs and line-drawings of intracellular and extracellular recordings abound. Give this book its chance. It should be on the reading list for Medical & Graduate School.

Excellent

This is an outstanding book - comprehensive, clearly written and beautifully produced, with many useful illustrations.It takes a bottom up approach, starting with the structure of ion channels and their proteins, and moves on to higher levels of structure and function. Because of the current state of knowledge it is necessarily much more detailed regarding the peripheral nervous system and sensory systems than it is regarding most areas of the central nervous system.You may be interested in "Phantoms in the Brain" by Ramachandran, a popular but very meaty book that takes the complementary top down approach - starting with the mind as we experience it and looking at medical cases to see how it is constructed by the brain.

A comprehensive update of a neuroscience classic

This highly readable textbook is probably the only one that has successfully dealt with the explosive growth of research and discovery in the exciting field of neuroscience. The 4th edition of the classic by Kuffler and Nicholls maintains the clear, logical and coherent presentation of its predecessors while keeping up with the latest work involving a range of techniques, from molecular genetics to functional MRI. The book's emphasis on the experimental and intellectual basis of knowledge in the field makes it ideal for graduate and advanced graduate students, even those with limited scientific background. It is doubtless no accident that the relatively compact new edition has kept the breadth and depth of earlier editions without becoming unwieldy. Its only real shortcoming is its hefty price, although it is still below most of the competition. It would be nice to see a paperback edition.