THE HUMAN NERVOUS SYSTEM

Paxinos G (ed)

San Diego: Academic Press, 1990, 1195 pp.

"It is paradoxical that today we know of twice as many nuclei in the rat brain as in the human brain, though the latter is about 600 times larger. Within the last few years, a number of researchers have begun conducting rigorous investigations into both the normal and pathological human brain....

"The Human Nervous System....is a contributed work [in which] each chapter is written by an acknowledged authority in his or her specific field....[The] book deals primarily with data derived from humans. It is intended to provide an essential link between experimental and clinical neuroscience.

"The Human Nervous System provides an integration of information concerning the structure and organization of the human brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system. It describes in depth the cytoarchitecture, chemoarchitecture, and connectivity of neural structures. Functional considerations are addressed insofar as they elucidate the organizational principles of particular regions. Extrapolation from other mammals is minimized. Differences between the nervous systems of humans and experimental animals are highlighted.

"One special feature of the book is its abundance of photographs and diagrams. These...greatly facilitate the understanding of complex anatomical information.

"Although The Human Nervous System is concerned nearly exclusively with humans, much of the information it contains is also applicable to other mammals. Indeed, the relatively large size of the human brain makes it possible to see and understand organizational principles which are less evident in the brains of smaller animals (e.g., the organization of the reticular formation). Thus, the book will not only serve those neurobiologists and instructors specializing in the human nervous system, but also those interested in other mammalian species" (Paxinos, op. cit., p. xi).