Nerve cells - neurons - are arguably the most complex of all cells. From the action of these cells comes movement, thought and consciousness. It is a challenging task to understand what molecules direct the various diverse aspects of their function. This has produced an ever-increasing amount of molecular information about neurons, and only in Molecular Biology of the Neuron can a large part of this information be found in one source. In this book, a non-specialist can learn about the molecules that control information flow in the brain or the progress of brain disease in an approachable format, while the expert has access to a wealth of detailed information from a wide range of topics impacting on his or her field of endeavour. The text is designed to achieve a balance of accessibility and broad coverage with up-to-date molecular detail.

In the six years since the first edition of Molecular Biology of the Neuron there has been an explosion in the molecular information about neurons that has been discovered, and this information is incorporated into this second edition. Entirely new chapters have been introduced where recent advances have made a new aspect of neuronal function more comprehensible at the molecular level. Written by leading researchers in the field, the book provides an essential overview of the molecular structure and function of neurons, and will be an invaluable tool to students and researchers alike.

1: Douglas Armstrong & Stephen Goodwin: Studying neuronal function using the Drosophila genetic system
2: Harald Jockusch & Thomas Schmitt-John: Using mouse genetics to study neuronal development and function
3: Uwe Ernsberger: Gene expression: from precursor to mature neuron
4: Christopher Connolly: Protein trafficking in neurons
5: Mauro Pessia: Ion channels and electrical activity
6: Julie Staple & Stefan Catsicas: Molecular biology of neurotransmitter release
7: Flaminio Cattabeni: Molecular biology of postsynaptic structures
8: Wayne Davies & Thora Glencorse: Signal reception: Ligand-gated ion channel receptors
9: Jennifer Koenig: Signal reception: G protein-coupled receptors
10: Giles Hardingham: Synapse-to-nucleus calcium signalling
11: Jean-Antoine Girault: Signalling by tyrosine phosphorylation in the nervous system
12: Renata Zippel, Simona Baldassa & Emmapaola Sturani: Mature neurons: signal transduction-serine/threonine kinases
13: Javier Diaz-Nido & Jesus Avila: The cytoskeleton
14: Brian Morris: Neuronal plasticity
15: Mark Bailey: Genetic basis of human neuronal diseases
16: Paul Shiels & Wayne Davies: Ageing and the death of neurones

Edited by R. W. Davies , Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK

Brian J. Morris , Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK

`It is always difficult to ensure a uniform standard of writing from a diverse group of authors, but these editors seem to have achieved it. Thus, each of the chapters provides a useful review of current knowledge of molecular data relating to neurons . . . will be appreciated by those in clinical systems or cellular neuroscience . . . it is unfair to pick out particular chapters for mention, since all of them are well constructed.' Physiology News, Number 56