Annual Review of Neuroscience, vol19.

Cowan WM, Shooter EM, Stevens CF, Thompson RF, eds. Palo Alto, CA 94303-0139, Annual Reviews Inc, 1996, hardback, 644 pp, illus, $52.

Annual Reviews are published in 27 different areas of study. Invited authors synthesize the research in selected topics to provide an up-to-date perspective. Although presented as a bound volume, the format is that of a series of unrelated reviews of the literature. The text assumes that the reader is knowledgeable in the general scientific field.

The 1996 Annual Review of Neuroscience contains 22 articles covering a broad range of developments. Although some of the topics dealing with intracellular events may not be of interest to the physical therapist, a number of the articles present information that lays the foundation for understanding the advances that are altering our interpretation of neuropathological events. To indicate the variety within the volume, a few of the topics will be highlighted below.

The lead article reviews the effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on the central nervous system. Included is a table listing the major issues in the pathogenesis of HIV-associated dementia, which provides the next generation of questions for investigation. Another review examines the abnormalities in skeletal muscle excitability underlying myotonias and periodic paralyses and attributes these derangements to sodium channel mutations that disrupt inactivation. Changes in the sodium channel provide a mechanism to explain the relationship between the seemingly disparate clinical disorders of myotonia (sustained contraction) and periodic inability to excite myofibrils. The Drosophila neuromuscular junction is described as a model system for studying mechanisms of neurotransmission and synaptic development.

Several articles detail aspects of physiology and function of neurotrophins and growth cone guidance in the development of vertebrate nervous systems. The evidence for possible roles of neurotropic factors beyond the initially discovered support for neuronal survival is reviewed.

Information related to sensory systems functioning is presented in three articles dealing with inferotemporal cortex and object recognition (primate studies), visual object recognition (animal and human studies), and information coding in the olfactory system (vertebrate studies).

The articles are well written and present extensive bibliographies on each topic. A subject index for this volume is included, as well as chapter titles for volumes 11 through 1 9. Because the information is in the form of review articles, the contents can be located through Index Medicus. The book has limited applications as a text in an entry-level curriculum or as a reference book for most physical therapists.

Rebecca E Porter, PhD, PT
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Ind

Dr Porter is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Graduate Studies in the physical therapy program at Indiana University. Her teaching and clinical practice are in the areas of neuroscience and neurological physical therapy.