Handbook of the Neuroscience of Aging

Book excerpt: A single volume of 85 articles, the Handbook of the Neurobiology of Aging is an authoritative selection of relevant chapters from the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, the most comprehensive source of neuroscience information assembled to date (AP Oct 2008). The study of neural aging is a central topic in neuroscience, neuropsychology and gerontology. Some well-known age-related neurological diseases include Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, but even more common are problems of aging which are not due to disease but to more subtle impairments in neurobiological systems, including impairments in vision, memory loss, muscle weakening, and loss of reproductive functions, changes in body weight, and sleeplessness. As the average age of our society increases, diseases of aging become more common and conditions associated with aging need more attention by doctors and researchers. This book offers an overview of topics related to neurobiological impairments which are related to the aging brain and nervous system. Coverage ranges from animal models to human imaging, fundamentals of age-related neural changes and pathological neurodegeneration, and offers an overview of structural and functional changes at the molecular, systems, and cognitive levels. Key pathologies such as memory disorders, Alzheimer's, dementia, Down syndrome, Parkinson's, and stroke are discussed, as are cutting edge interventions such as cell replacement therapy and deep brain stimulation. There is no other current single-volume reference with such a comprehensive coverage and depth. Authors selected are the internationally renowned experts for the particular topics on which they write, and the volume is richly illustrated with over 100 color figures. A collection of articles reviewing our fundamental knowledge of neural aging, the book provides an essential, affordable reference for scientists in all areas of Neuroscience, Neuropsychology and Gerontology. - The most comprehensive source of up-to-date data on the neurobiology of aging, review articles cover: normal, sensory and cognitive aging; neuroendocrine, structural and molecular factors; and fully address both patholgy and intervention - Chapters represent an authoritative selection of relevant material from the most comprehensive source of information about neuroscience ever assembled, (Encyclopedia of Neuroscience), synthesizing information otherwise dispersed across a number of journal articles and book chapters, and saving researchers the time consuming process of finding and integrating this information themselves - Offering outstanding scholarship, each chapter is written by an expert in the topic area and over 20% of chapters feature international contributors, (representing 11 countries) - Provides more fully vetted expert knowledge than any existing work with broad appeal for the US, UK and Europe, accurately crediting the contributions to research in those regions - Fully explores various pathologies associated with the aging brain (Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, memory disorders, stroke, Down's syndrome, etc.) - Coverage of disorders and key interventions makes the volume relevant to clinicians as well as researchers - Heavily illustrated with over 100 color figures