The human brain and its disorders / edited by Doug Richards, Tom Clark, and Carl Clarke. — Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2007.—(64.15/H918)

Contents

        Contents
    
    LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
    LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
    1 Brain basics
    1.1 What is the human nervous system?
    1.2 What is the brain made of?
    1.3 What are the key components of the nervous system?
    1.4 How is the brain organized?
    1.5 How does the brain process information?
    1.6 The plastic brain
    1.7 Neurons--from birth to death
    2 Brain function: from membrane to memory
    2.1 What makes a neuron different from other cells?
    2.2 How do neurons communicate?
    2.3 How can neurons adapt to new situations?
    2.4 Memory: the search for the engram
    3 The genomics of brain disorders
    3.1 Introduction
    3.2 Is there a genetic basis for brain disorders?
    3.3 What are chromosomal abnormalities?
    3.4 What are single-gene disorders?
    3.5 What are multiple-gene and multifactorial disorders?
    3.6 Gene hunting
    4 Basic psychiatric concepts
    4.1 The nature of psychiatry
    4.2 What biological factors are important in understanding mental illness?
    4.3 What psychological approaches are used to understand mental illness?
    4.4 What are the key psychiatric symptoms?
    4.5 How are psychiatric disorders classified?
    5 Cerebrovascular diseases
    5.1 Stroke
    5.2 Subarachnoid haemorrhage and intracranial aneurysms
    6 SUMMARY FURTHER READING
    6.1 What is epilepsy?
    6.2 What are the symptoms and signs of epilepsy?
    6.3 How do we diagnose epilepsy?
    6.4 How are the different types of epilepsy classified?
    6.5 What are the underlying causes of epilepsy?
    6.6 What are the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie epilepsy?
    6.7 How is epilepsy treated?
    7 Alzheimer's disease and related disorders
    7.1 How common is Alzheimer's disease?
    7.2 What are the symptoms and signs of AD?
    7.3 What tests can we use to diagnose AD?
    7.4 What tissue changes are caused by AD?
    7.5 What are the likely causes of AD?
    7.6 What treatments are available for AD?
    7.7 What does the future hold for AD patients?
    8 Other neurodegenerative conditions
    8.1 Parkinson's disease
    8.2 Motor neuron disease
    8.3 Huntington's disease
    9 Brain infections
    9.1 How do microorganisms cause brain infections?
    9.2 Bacterial meningitis
    9.3 Viral meningitis
    9.4 Fungal and yeast infections of the brain
    9.5 Protozoal brain infection
    9.6 Encephalitis
    9.7 Intracranial abscess
    9.8 Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies or prion diseases
    10 Multiple sclerosis
    10.1 How common is multiple sclerosis and who are most at risk?
    10.2 What are the likely causes of multiple sclerosis?
    10.3 What tissue changes occur in multiple sclerosis?
    10.4 What are the symptoms and clinical signs of multiple sclerosis?
    10.5 What tests can we use to diagnose multiple sclerosis?
    10.6 What treatments are available for multiple sclerosis?
    10.7 What is the long-term outcome?
    11 Headache and chronic pain
    11.1 Headache
    11.2 Chronic pain
    12 Neurosurgery
    12.1 What are the goals of surgery of the central nervous system?
    12.2 Common neurosurgical conditions
    12.3 Neurosurgical tools
    13 Anxiety and related disorders
    13.1 Normal anxiety
    13.2 What are the symptoms and signs of anxiety-related disorders?
    13.3 What causes anxiety disorders?
    13.4 How common are anxiety-related disorders?
    13.5 What treatments are available for anxiety-related disorders?
    13.6 What is the outcome of anxiety-related disorders?
    14 Mood disorders
    14.1 Unipolar depression
    14.2 Bipolar affective disorder
    14.3 Subcategories of mood disorders
    14.4 How common are mood disorders?
    14.5 What are the likely causes of mood disorders?
    14.6 How are mood disorders assessed?
    14.7 What treatments are available for mood disorders?
    15 Schizophrenia and related psychoses
    15.1 What are the clinical features of schizophrenia?
    15.2 How common is schizophrenia?
    15.3 What are the likely causes of schizophrenia?
    15.4 How is schizophrenia assessed?
    15.5 What treatments are available for schizophrenia?
    15.6 Other psychotic disorders related to schizophrenia
    16 Psychoactive substance use and addiction
    16.1 HOW is addiction defined and what are the signs and symptoms of substance misuse and addiction?
    16.2 What is the extent of the problem?
    16.3 What are the causes of addiction?
    16.4 What harm is caused by substance misuse?
    16.5 How is addiction assessed?
    16.6 What can be done to treat addiction?
    GLOSSARY
    ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK QUESTIONS
    INDEX