Camp. Biochem. Physiol. Vol. 86A, No. 2, p. 395. 1987 Pergamon Journals Ltd. Printed in Great Britain

BOOK REVIEWS

The Thalamusby Edward G. Jones. 935 pp. 1985. Plenum Press, New York. $135.

This monograph is a splendid survey of the thalamus. The sensory information coming into the CNS is sent via the thalamic nuclei to the cortex. In some ways, one can think of the thalamic nuclei as efficient secretaries to the boss (cortex). Everything coming to the boss goes through the secretaries first and in some cases the secretaries make the decisions, do the work, and tell the boss afterwards. ‘. there is growing evidence that the thalamic relay neu- rons do possess innate properties that may determine some aspects of their behavior, independent of afferent driving.” The main chapters are 1. The history of the thalamus. 2. Description of the thalamus in representative mammals. 3. Principles of thalamic organization. 4. Synaptic or- ganization in the thalamus. 5. Transmitters receptors and related compounds in the thalamus. 6. Development of the thalamus. 7. The ventral nuclei. 8. The medial geniculate complex. 9. Lateral geniculate nucleus. 10. Lateral posterior and pulvinar nuclei. 11. Posterior complex of nuclei. 12. Intralaminar nuclei. 13. Medial nuclei. 14. Anterior nuclei and lateral dorsal nucleus. 15. Ventral thalamus. 16. Epi- thalamus. 17. Comparative anatomy of thalamus. 18. Con- cluding remarks.

The book is well-illustrated with many excellent micro- graphs coming from sections prepared by Dr Jones’ own laboratory. The text is very readable and clearly places the voluminous literature in relation to experimental data. Dr Jones is to be congratulated on having written a classic volume that will be of great value to neuroscientists for many years to come.

Cerebral cortex-Volume 3 Visual cortex. Edited by A. Peters and E. G. Jones. 424 pp. 1985. Plenum Press, New York. $65.

The visual cortex probably offers the best chance of under- standing the functional significance of ihe neurons and their interconnections in the cerebral cortex. The present volume has chapters on I. The visual cortex of the normal mouse and the reeler mutant. 2. The visual cortex of the rat. 3. Connections of the visual cortex areas in the cat. 4. Physiology of the cat striate cortex. 5. The striate visual cortex of the tree shrew. 6. The organizing principles of the primary visual cortex in the monkey. 7. Functional or- ganization of the primate visual cortex. 8. Stimulus-specific columns in monkey cortex as revealed by the 2-deoxyglucose method. 9. Subcortical sources of direct projections to visual cortex. 10. Charting the visual cortex.

The chapters are clearly written and excellently illus- trated. Not only do they state what is already known but they also point out what needs to be known for a more full appreciation of the functioning of the visual cortex. The book is a valuable contribution to this important series of volumes.

Neurosecretion and the biology of neuropeptidesEdited by H. Kobayashi, H. A. Bern and A. Urano. 544 pp. 1985.

Japanese Scientific Societies Press, Springer-Verlag. Berlin. DM 148.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 9th Inter- national Symposium on Neurosecretion. The papers are grouped into sections 1. Biosynthesis, processing and release of neurohormones. 2. Functional morphology of neuro- scretory systems. 3. Control of neuroendocrine cell activity. 4. Brain-gut peptides. 5. Invertebrate neurosecretion. 6. Caudal neurosecretory system.

There are many useful reviews in this international multi- author volume. For example Acher provides an excellent account of the evolution of the oxytocin, mesotocin, arginine-vasopressin, lysipressin, phenypressin, neuro- physin VLDV and neurophysin MSEL, and their probable genetic basis. As the molecular biology of the neuropeptides becomes increasingly known so there is a greater appre- ciation of their evolution and variety of function in the animal body.

Neurobiology: current comparative approaches-Edited by R. Gilles and J. Balthazart. 415 pp. 1985. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, New York. DM 194.

This volume contains the invited lectures on neu- rophysiology at the 1st International Congress of Compara- tive Physi&gy and Biochemistry. There were five symposia on the topics of 1. Behavioural endocrinology of mammals. 2. Behavioural endocrinology of birds. 3. Sexual differentiation. 4. Comparative aspects of aminergic neu- rons. 5. Photo-transduction in invertebrate visual cells. The volume contains one of the last papers of Graham Hoyle on “Neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neu-

rohormones” where he discusses the problem of under- standing how a small group of interactive neurons function as in the lobster stomatogastric ganglion where the neurons are in two independent groups of 14 and 16 neurons and where “it now is apparent that neuronal circuits for all the subtlety of their connections and intrinsic properties, can not operate alone” but must be triggered by neurohormonal factors. The book contains much material that is well worth reading.

Transport processes, iono- and osmoregulation_Edited by R. Gilles and M. Gilles-Baillien. 483 pp. 1985. Springer- Verlag, Berlin, New York. $95.

This volume contains invited lectures at the 1st Inter- national Congress of Comparative Physiology and Bio- chemistry. The topics discussed are as follows 1. Regulation of ion transport across epithelial membranes. 2. Mineral- ocorticoid control of ion transport; the role of NaCl adap- tation 3. Ion transport across gills. 4. Intestinal transport. 5. Exchange of organic substances between the animal organism and the environment. 6. Cell volume control processes: (a) cell volume maintenance and regulation, (b) organic osmotic effecters and buffer substances. The papers in each of these sections provide an excellent summary of present knowledge and views of the subject and will be useful to students and research workers.

395