The Synaptic Organization of the Brain, ed 4.

The Synaptic Organization of the Brain, ed 4 Shepherd GM, ed. New York, NY 10016, Oxford University Press, 1998, paperback, 638 pp, illus, $45.

Now in its fourth edition, The Synaptic Organization of the Brain is a classic. The purpose of this book is to provide an up-to-date discussion of the synaptic organization of the central nervous system. Although Shepherd edits the volume, he coauthors only 2 of the 12 chapters. The other chapters are written by 15 other contributors from 11 different universities or research centers.

The first chapter of the book introduces the reader to synaptic circuits, and the second chapter discusses membrane properties and currents, action potentials, receptors, channels, neurotransmitters, and neuronal communication.

The following chapters discuss specific regions of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord, cochlear nucleus, olfactory bulb, retina, cerebellum, thalamus, basal ganglia, olfactory cortex, hippocampus, and neocortex. This is essentially the same organization as the previous edition of the book, except that the fourth edition omits the separate chapter on the peripheral ganglia and has an added chapter on the cochlear nucleus.

As the title suggests, this book deals with cellular physiology and does not include discussions of functional anatomy or pathways. However, the book does give an in-depth discussion of the topics it covers. The chapters are very well written, and, even though the book deals with very complex topics the authors write in a manner that makes for both interesting and informative reading. Each chapter includes numerous black-and-white illustrations that enhance the text. The book also contains many schematic and block diagrams that try to integrate and simplify the complexity of the cellular circuitry. The chapters on the spinal cord, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and neocortex would be of particular interest to physical therapists. The book is extremely well referenced. Although the references may have been updated substantially since the last edition, there are still many references to the classic research in this area, adding another level of depth to this volume.

In my opinion, this text is not targeted to or suitable for physical therapists in clinical practice. There are many other neuroscience texts on the market that are better suited for that audience. However, this text would be very useful to physical therapists who teach neuroscience to physical therapist students or who are doing research in this area. Although the level of discussion in this text is far too complex for professional-level physical therapist students, many of the diagrams in the book would be useful in integrating knowledge of some of the cellular functions and circuitry found in the central nervous system.

Physical therapy faculty and researchers involved in teaching physical therapist students would definitely find this book to be a worthwhile addition to their library. In fact, the reference list alone (over 2,000 references) may be worth the price of the book.

Thomas M Mohr, PhD, PT University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND

Dr Mohr is Professor and Chairman in the Department of Physical Therapy, where he teaches courses in neuroscience, physiology, biomechanics, and electrophysiology. His research interests include electromyography, biomechanics, and electrotherapy.