Ryoichiro Kageyama – författare

This book reviews recent progress in cortical development research, focusing on the mechanisms of neural stem cell regulation, neuronal diversity and connectivity formation, and neocortical organization. Development of the cerebral cortex, the center for higher brain functions such as cognition, memory, and decision making, is one of the major targets of current research. The cerebral cortex is divided into many areas, including motor, sensory, and visual cortices, each of which consists of six layers containing a variety of neurons with different activities and connections. As this book explains, such diversity in neuronal types and connections is generated at various levels. First, neural stem cells change their competency over time, giving sequential rise to distinct types of neurons and glial cells: initially deep layer neurons, then superficial layer neurons, and lastly astrocytes. The activities and connections of neurons are further modulated via interactions with other brain regions, such as the thalamocortical circuit, and via input from the environment. This book on cortical development is essential reading for students, postdocs, and neurobiologists.

Biological signaling pathways dynamically interact with one another to form complex information networks intracellularly, intercellularly, and eventually at the level of the organism. Biology and medicine have conventionally focused on identification and characterization of functional elements in biological signaling pathways. Recently, research in this field has pursued a new approach, systems biology, to understand the dynamics, complexity, and physiological functions of the biological signaling networks. Instead of reductionistic analyses or large-scale studies of biomolecules piece by piece, systems biology emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary methods and analysis of the regulation and operation of information networks at the systems level. The contributors to this book are leading researchers in the rising field of systems biology. Readers will find not only the most recent advances in research, but also the latest information about interdisciplinary methods and related topics.