Over the past decade, researchers in neuroscience have made enormous
strides in understanding how brain cells regulate their
intracellular pH and the consequences this has for the pH in their
immediate extracellular environment. At the same time, it has become
clear that neural activity within the brain induces changes in both
intracellular and extracellular pH, which in turn have important
consequences for brain function. Until now, all of this exciting new
information has been scattered in the scientific literature. pH and
Brain Function answers the growing need for a single authoritative
source in which these data and concepts are integrated and presented
in a format useful to the entire neurobiological community.
pH and Brain Function offers thorough coverage of this
increasingly important area of research, beginning with the
fundamental concepts, which include methodological and theoretical
issues such as the measurement of pH and the concept of pH in
neurobiology. It explores aspects of regulation and modulation of
intracellular pH in brain cells, surveys the changes in pH that
occur with neural activity and how these changes affect neural
activity, and discusses the role of pH in the pathophysiology of
neurological diseases.
Specific areas covered include:
- pH as an intrinsic modulator of synaptic transmission and
plasticity, and of neuronal excitability
- The effects of pH on voltage- and ligand-gated channels (e.g.,
NMDA and GABA receptors)
- How protons and calcium ions interact at the level of
regulation and modulation
- The role of pH in epilepsy, anoxia/ischemia, and
excitotoxicity
pH and Brain Function is an authoritative, comprehensive
reference and an important resource for researchers in all areas of
neuroscience as well as cell biology and physiology. |
