Development of the Nervous System

Development of the Nervous System presents a broad and basic treatment of the established and evolving principles of neural development as exemplified by key experiments and observations from past and recent times. The text is organized ontogenically. It begins with the emergence of the neural primordium, and takes a chapter by chapter approach in succeeding events in neural development: patterning and growth of the nervous system, neuronal determination, axonal navigation and targeting, neuron survival and death, synapse formation and developmental plasticity. Finally, in the last chapter, with the construction phase nearing completion, we examine the emergence of behavior. This new edition reflects the complete modernization of the field that has been achieved through the intensive application of molecular, genetic, and cell biological approaches. It is richly illustrated with color photographs and original drawings. Combined with the clear and concise writing the illustrations make this a book which is well suited to students approaching this intriguing field for the first time.

• Thorough survey of the field of neural development
• Concise but complete, suitable for a one semester course on upper level undergraduate or graduate level
• Focus on fundamental principles of organogenesis in the nervous system
• Integrates information from a variety of model systems, relating them to human nervous system development, including disorders of development
• Systematically develops knowledge from the description of key experiments and results.
• Organized ontologically
• Carefully edited to be presented in one voice
• New edition thoroughly updated and revised to include major new findings
• All figures in full color, updated and revised
• Specific attention on revising the chapter on cognitive and behavioral development to provide a foundation and outlook towards those very fast moving areas
• Instructor website with figure bank and test questions

• The only thorough textbook of developmental neuroscience on the market
• Carefully structured and edited to map onto the syllabus of most developmental neuroscience courses
• Priced to be affordable for undergraduates even in addition to broader textbooks
• Carefully constructed instructor's Web site
• Specifically designed to make teaching of complicated subjects easy and fun for instructors and students alike

In a field of science where the tools of investigation continue to improve dramatically and the challenge is to understand the construction of what is, arguably, the most complex object in our known universe, it is not unexpected that this third edition of Development of the Nervous System required extensive revision. Moreover, it has become increasingly clear that, in many respects, the processes of neural development continue in the “mature” adult brain. Discoveries in adult neurogenesis and plasticity have profound implications for brain function throughout life. Moreover, abnormalities in developmental mechanisms lead to brain disorders that only become manifest in adulthood. Our understanding of these developmental processes holds the promise for emerging therapies, such as deriving neurons and glia from embryonic stem cells. In this way, the study of neural development has never been more relevant.

Experts in various subfields of neural development helped us by reviewing each chapter, telling us what they thought was missing, wrong, needed updating, or should be removed from the text. They also suggested where entire sections of the book should be approached afresh, emphasizing new conceptual angles. We took most of their excellent advice. However, we were mindful that many of the older studies in our field have stood the test of time, and continue to serve as the core knowledge of neural development. This core still forms the storyline of the textbook. We hope that those of you who were content with our second edition, particularly for teaching purposes, will be comfortable with the third edition. The book is built on the same foundation, yet we have embraced ideas that have gained in acceptance and included several new studies to convey the excitement that is part of a field where very recent discoveries continue to have enormous impact. We were cautious, however, about including too much of this new material for two reasons. First, we wanted to keep the size of the book the same. Second, experience has taught us that what is new and exciting will not always turn out to be as pivotal for the field as it now appears. The future will be the best judge of which studies become classics and which studies will form the core of future textbooks.