【发布标题】【已上传】Encyclopedia of Neuroscience 神经科学百科全书(2009_Elsevier) PDF格式
【文件名称】Encyclopedia of Neuroscience(2009_Elsevier)
【文件大小】337M
【推荐分类】权威教材
【文件描述】
What is an encyclopedia? The termis derived fromtwo
Greek words: enkuklios, which means cyclical, and
paideia, which means education. In the early sixteenth
century, copyists of Latin manuscripts combined the
two words into a Latin designation which comes to us
in English with the same spelling and with the meaning
‘general course of instruction’ (The American
Heritage Dictionary, 2000, Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
p. 589). The original Greek provides a dynamic
connotation, an effort to approach knowledge in a
probing, integrated fashion. In Latin and then English,
the term has generally been applied to reference
volumes addressing broad areas of knowledge.
The Greek emphasis on creative approaches to
information is particularly apt for the neurosciences.
The term ‘neuroscience’ is of remarkably young vintage.
Francis Schmitt, in his foreword to the first
edition of this encyclopedia, related his process of
concatenating scientists from disparate fields into an
invisible college whose workshops attacked the brain’s
most recalcitrant puzzles. He dubbed the organization
the Neuroscience Research Program (NRP). The early
NRP ‘associates’ included giants such as Melvin Calvin,
whose Nobel Prize honored his work on photosynthesis;
the Nobel laureate physical chemist
Manfred Eigen; the biochemist Albert Lehninger;
and Marshall Nirenberg, then a young molecular biologist
in the throes of breaking the genetic code.
When Schmitt established the NRP, neuroscience as
an integrated endeavor hardly existed. The invention
of the microelectrode was permitting neurophysiologists
to record from single cells, but characterizing
them biochemically was impossible. A major step
forward was the emergence in the mid-1960s of the
Falck-Hillarp fluorescence microscopic techniques,
which permitted selective visualization of catecholamine
and serotonin neurons. Mapping the aminergic
pathways soon led to collaborative efforts of
behaviorists, who could examine the consequences
of selective lesions, and biochemists, who no longer
were relegated to monitoring neurotransmitters in
homogenates of the whole brain. Advances in the
1970s in receptor biochemistry, their localization by
autoradiography, and neuropeptide immunohistochemistry
further enhanced discourse among neurophysiologists,
neuroanatomists, neurochemists, and
neuropharmacologists. In the past two decades, the
tools of molecular biology have furthered the dialogue.
The explosion of the neurosciences can also be
documented through the chronicles of the Society
for Neuroscience (SFN). The SFN was founded in
1970 with Vernon Mountcastle as the first elected
president, and its inaugural annual meeting in
Washington, DC hosted a few hundred researchers.
When I served as president in 1980, SFN numbered
7000 members. One of my key tasks was to combat
attacks on the raison d’eˆtre of the society. Some
argued, “We have too many scientists in this organization.
Let’s split into two societies, the ‘Wets’ and the
‘Drys.’” Instead, to emphasize the integrated nature
of the field, we launched the Journal of Neuroscience.
Also, we argued that growth might plateau and that
careful meeting organization would prevent individuals
from getting ‘lost in a crowd.’ My prediction
about a plateau was off the mark. As of this writing,
May 2007, SFN numbers about 38 000 active members,
with up to 35 000 people attending each annual
meeting, dwarfing any other biomedical research
society.
Most would agree that neuroscience is the most
integrated scientific discipline. As such, the concept
of an encyclopedia, in the original Greek sense of a
circle of learning, is notably appropriate yet immensely
challenging. The current edition, like earlier ones, succeeds
by careful attention to organization and, most
importantly, to the selection of the finest researchers as
Associate Editors for individual topics. The Associate
Editors are all seasoned veterans yet active researchers
whose vision remains at the forefront of their field. All
areas of importance are covered, from ‘soup to nuts.’
Emphasis is elegantly balanced between molecular and
systems neuroscience.
In this era of rapid advances, one can question
whether an encyclopedia, comprising a snapshot in
time, serves a meaningful function. Might not all the
information in such an enterprise be obsolete soon
after publication? An effective encyclopedia, exemplified
in these volumes, integrates disparate areas in a lucid, reader-friendly format. Such a publication
can be provocative and invigorating to the most
sophisticated professionals. At the same time, the
entries are presented in such an inviting fashion that
the encyclopedia serves for novices as the ideal entre´e
into the world of the nervous system.
Solomon H. Snyder
Distinguished Service Professor,
Johns Hopkins University
