News Release

Building brains: An introduction to neural development

David Price, Andrew P. Jarman, John O. Mason, Peter C. Kind

Book Announcement

Wiley

The human brain is the single most powerful processor that nature has devised. Through its billions of neurons it has enabled our species to develop language, construct tools, overcome disease, conquer flight and dominate the planet in ways other species do not even have the ability to imagine.

In Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development David Price, Andrew Jarman, John Mason and Peter Kind explore how this world changing organ developed and in doing so provide an accessible introduction to the science of neural development.

"The development of a brain from its simple beginnings in the embryo to the extraordinarily complex fully-functional adult structure is a truly remarkable process," said David Price. "Understanding how it occurs remains a formidable challenge despite enormous advances over the last century and current intense world-wide scientific research."

Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development is a highly visual and student-friendly introduction to the main events that occur during neural development. Using case studies and examples from model organisms the authors explain how cells in the early embryo become neural, how their proliferation is controlled, how they are regulated and connected and why some die.

Building Brains focuses on well-established principles and includes numerous illustrations in full colour throughout. Text boxes feature in parallel to the main text to highlight key points while diagrams help illustrate the more detailed explanations of major experimental technologies, findings, contributors to the field and case studies from human diseases.

"Unraveling the mechanisms that lead to the development of healthy brains should help scientists tackle currently incurable diseases of the nervous system such as autism and schizophrenia," concluded Price. "Our book ensures that students and researchers from a range of backgrounds now have a guide to the essential elements of this increasingly important subject."

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