Already the subject of considerable pre-publication discussion, this magisterial work by one of the nation's leading neuroscientists presents a radically new view of the function of the brain and nervous system. Its central idea is that the nervous system in each individual operates as a selective system resembling natural selection in evolution, but operating by different mechanisms. By providing a fundamental neural basis for categorization of the things of this world it unifies perception, action, and learning. The theory also completely revises our view of memory, which it considers to be a dynamic process of recategorization rather than a replicative store of attributes. This has deep implications for the interpretation of various psychological states from attention to dreaming. Neural Darwinism ranges over many disciplines, focusing on key problems in developmental and evolutionary biology, anatomy, physiology, ethology, and psychology. This book should therefore prove indispensable to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in these fields, to students of medicine, and to those in the social sciences concerned with the relation of behavior to biology. Beyond that, this far-ranging theory of brain function is bound to stimulate renewed discussions of such philosophical issues as the mind-body problem, the origins of knowledge, and the perceptual basis of language.

The Noradrenergic Neurons examines the mechanisms that regulate the release and synthesis of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline. Noradrenaline (or norepinephrine) and the physiological activity of the cells that manufacture and release it, play an important role in response to stress and the development of resistance to stress, as well as psychological mood itself. This book discusses the response of the various nonadrenergic receptor subtypes to noradrenaline, and the long-lasting changes that underlie the striking plasticity of function manifested by noradrenergic cells, which in turn are reflected in observable behavioral plasticity In recent years there has been no single book that presents an up-to-date synthesis of current knowledge on the biochemical, anatomical, and physiological aspects of this important group of brain and peripheral nervous system cells and their function in the whole behaving organism, and this book aims to fill that gap. This is informative reading for students of physiological psychology, neurochemistry, and medicine.