Looking for neurology information



C

Chris Brunner

Guest
Hello people, I am a student in high school who has always found an interest in neuroscience.
Basically, my problem is that the only books I can find on the subject are textbooks. I am looking
for some kind of book that serves as an introduction, ideally a thorough one, to neuroscience that
is not a textbook. If anyone knows of such a book, their recommendation of it would be tremendously
appreciated! If no one knows of such a book, then any other recommendation (of books on this subject
that I may be able to read) would be just as helpful. I know that many people reading this post will
think it is be insane for me to expect to be able to read something like this, but I'd like to
encourage these people to ignore that and help me find a book. =] I'm willing to read something
ridiculously long. I'm willing to have to do research in order to understand what the book is
talking about. I'd just like a place to start.

If anyone cares for a reason why I'm asking, keep reading. Else, there's no reason to waste your
time, so you'll probably want to either go ahead and post a reading recommendation or move on to
another post.

I was prescribed by a physician Methylphenidate when about six-years-old. It blew my mind that a
pill could alter my brain's function in such a major way, and I kept asking my physician for answers
as to how it works, but the most I could get at that age was the doctor's drawing on a pad of paper
of how she said it worked. That sufficed at the time to make the realize that the explanation was
more than I could understand, at that point at least. To make a very long story short, I've been
interested in how these things work since then. I've looked for as much information as I can find
regarding how exactly drugs like dextroamphetamine work, but I accept now that I'll never understand
until I have a much better knowledge of neurology as whole. So... that's my goal now: To learn
enough until I understand the dopamine neurotransmitter and what effects amphetamine-like stimulants
have on it. The reason that I've posted to Usenet is that I can't think of a better way of finding a
way to find this information than by asking people who have learned these things. So, to get back to
my point, if anyone thinks they know of a way for me to get started, please tell me what I can read.
Your input, whether in regard to books or not, will not go unappreciated!

Thanks in advance everyone! Chris Brunner

PS: If anyone knows of a better place to post this, please let me know. PSS: Email is more likely to
received by me if "newsaddy" is replaced with "chris"
 
"Chris Brunner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> Hello people, I am a student in high school who has always found an interest in neuroscience.
> Basically, my problem is that the only books I can find on the subject are textbooks. I am looking
> for some kind of book that serves as an introduction, ideally a thorough one, to neuroscience that
> is not a textbook. ...

You might try here: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/introb.html

It is geared towards middle school, but it does have several references and links that you might
find helpful.
 
On Sat, 22 Nov 2003 17:18:57 -0600, Chris Brunner
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hello people, I am a student in high school who has always found an interest in neuroscience.
>Basically, my problem is that the only books I can find on the subject are textbooks. I am looking
>for some kind of book that serves as an introduction, ideally a thorough one, to neuroscience that
>is not a textbook. If anyone knows of such a book, their recommendation of it would be tremendously
>appreciated! If no one knows of such a book, then any other recommendation (of books on this
>subject that I may be able to read) would be just as helpful. I know that many people reading this
>post will think it is be insane for me to expect to be able to read something like this, but I'd
>like to encourage these people to ignore that and help me find a book. =] I'm willing to read
>something ridiculously long. I'm willing to have to do research in order to understand what the
>book is talking about. I'd just like a place to start.
>
>If anyone cares for a reason why I'm asking, keep reading. Else, there's no reason to waste your
>time, so you'll probably want to either go ahead and post a reading recommendation or move on to
>another post.
>
>I was prescribed by a physician Methylphenidate when about six-years-old. It blew my mind that a
>pill could alter my brain's function in such a major way, and I kept asking my physician for
>answers as to how it works, but the most I could get at that age was the doctor's drawing on a pad
>of paper of how she said it worked. That sufficed at the time to make the realize that the
>explanation was more than I could understand, at that point at least. To make a very long story
>short, I've been interested in how these things work since then. I've looked for as much
>information as I can find regarding how exactly drugs like dextroamphetamine work, but I accept now
>that I'll never understand until I have a much better knowledge of neurology as whole. So... that's
>my goal now: To learn enough until I understand the dopamine neurotransmitter and what effects amphetamine-
>like stimulants have on it. The reason that I've posted to Usenet is that I can't think of a better
>way of finding a way to find this information than by asking people who have learned these things.
>So, to get back to my point, if anyone thinks they know of a way for me to get started, please tell
>me what I can read. Your input, whether in regard to books or not, will not go unappreciated!
>
>Thanks in advance everyone! Chris Brunner
>
>PS: If anyone knows of a better place to post this, please let me know. PSS: Email is more likely
> to received by me if "newsaddy" is replaced with "chris"

What is the matter with textbooks or other instructional material? You want to learn, don't you, and
these are designed to help teach!

Here are some web sites that may be a start.

Some elementary sites http://www.brainsrule.com/ http://www.tpt.org/newtons/12/brain.html
http://www.dana.org/

Drugs and behavior http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~lwh/drugs/

Google, of course, has a neurobiology page listing an enormous number of sites to explore at
http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Biology/Neurobiology/

Good luck. Ritalin is not the easiest drug to research since its mecanism of action is so vague and
undetermined. As you probably already found out, there are indications about what it does to
specific neurotransmitters and some vague ideas about what it does "as a mild stmulant to the brain
stem arousal system and cortex" The details about how it does what it does (and exactly what ADD
might be) are still quite unknown.

Here is a site dealing with this specific issue (the relation between ADD and the reticular
activating system) http://www.newideas.net/p0000627.htm
 
You might like the more general popular science/non-textbook (but still relatively scholarly)
approaches to this subject which have been written by Antonio Damasio ("Descartes Error" and "The
Feeling of What Happens") or Joseph LeDoux ("The Emotional Brain", "The Synaptic Self"). Check out
amazon.com for descriptions, reviews, and links to similar material by other authors.

Enjoy!

Scott Oakman, MD/PhD Psychiatry, Univ. of Michigan

Chris Brunner <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Hello people, I am a student in high school who has always found an interest in neuroscience.
> Basically, my problem is that the only books I can find on the subject are textbooks. I am looking
> for some kind of book that serves as an introduction, ideally a thorough one, to neuroscience that
> is not a textbook. If anyone knows of such a book, their recommendation of it would be
> tremendously appreciated! If no one knows of such a book, then any other recommendation (of books
> on this subject that I may be able to read) would be just as helpful. I know that many people
> reading this post will think it is be insane for me to expect to be able to read something like
> this, but I'd like to encourage these people to ignore that and help me find a book. =] I'm
> willing to read something ridiculously long. I'm willing to have to do research in order to
> understand what the book is talking about. I'd just like a place to start.
>
> If anyone cares for a reason why I'm asking, keep reading. Else, there's no reason to waste your
> time, so you'll probably want to either go ahead and post a reading recommendation or move on to
> another post.
>
> I was prescribed by a physician Methylphenidate when about six-years-old. It blew my mind that a
> pill could alter my brain's function in such a major way, and I kept asking my physician for
> answers as to how it works, but the most I could get at that age was the doctor's drawing on a pad
> of paper of how she said it worked. That sufficed at the time to make the realize that the
> explanation was more than I could understand, at that point at least. To make a very long story
> short, I've been interested in how these things work since then. I've looked for as much
> information as I can find regarding how exactly drugs like dextroamphetamine work, but I accept
> now that I'll never understand until I have a much better knowledge of neurology as whole. So...
> that's my goal now: To learn enough until I understand the dopamine neurotransmitter and what
> effects amphetamine-like stimulants have on it. The reason that I've posted to Usenet is that I
> can't think of a better way of finding a way to find this information than by asking people who
> have learned these things. So, to get back to my point, if anyone thinks they know of a way for me
> to get started, please tell me what I can read. Your input, whether in regard to books or not,
> will not go unappreciated!
>
> Thanks in advance everyone! Chris Brunner
>
> PS: If anyone knows of a better place to post this, please let me know. PSS: Email is more likely
> to received by me if "newsaddy" is replaced with "chris"
 
[email protected] wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Hi Chris,
>
> I think it's terrific that you are interested in teaching yourself neuroscience at such a young
> age. I wish I had done that when I was in high school. I can understand your wish to stay away
> from textbooks, but there are some good ones out there. Also, if you wish to continue to study
> science when you're in college, you'll have to get used to textbooks at some point. I'll mention a
> few that I've found helpful. They might be a little bit difficult, but you are obviously very
> bright, so I don't think they'll be too daunting for you.
>
> The first one is not really a textbook, but it's jam-packed with lots of useful neuroscience text.
> It's called THE HUMAN BRAIN COLORING BOOK, by M.C. Diamond, A.B. Scheibel, and L.M. Elson. It's
> part of a series of "coloring books." Some of the others in that series are: THE PHYSIOLOGY
> COLORING BOOK and THE ANATOMY COLORING BOOK. You don't have to color the pictures, but it might be
> helpful in some instances and, as I said, the accompanying text is excellent. I'm not absolutely
> certain, but I think the publisher is Barnes and Noble Books.
>
> Another excellent book is NEUROBIOLOGY by Gordon Shepherd. I don't know what edition it's in now,
> but you can easily check that online at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com.
>
> The next one that I've found very helpful is FUNDAMENTAL NEUROANATOMY by Walle J.H. Nauta and
> Michael Feirtag.
>
> You might also like to check out CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY OF NERVE AND MUSCLE by Gary G. Matthews.
>
> As for pharmacology information (you mentioned you'd taken medication), Stephen Stahl's book,
> ESSENTIAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY is one of the best I've seen. While the text might be advanced for
> you now, there are some wonderful diagrams that go with the text, and some of them are kind of
> humorous. Again, I'm uncertain what edition that book is in.
>
> It might also be helpful for you to get ahold of a basic, introductory, college level biology book
> (oops, sorry, but that would be a textbook), and read the chapters devoted to the nervous system.
> Often, at the end of those chapters, the author will list many useful references. I know you were
> hoping to avoid textbooks, but with your interests, it may not be possible to avoid them for long.
> The nice thing about a basic introductory biology book is that it's a good starting point, and the
> material is usually presented in a manner that is easier to grasp. Some examples of good
> introductory biology books are BIOLOGY by Helena Curtis and BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE by Keeton and
> Gould. Actually, I don't know whether those are available anymore in new editions, but you might
> be able to find them in the library.
>
> By the way, you express yourself very well. You write better than many adults I meet on message
> boards. I think you're off to a good start!

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Dear poster,

Test posts should contain the words: "TEST ignore" in the subject.

Mary
 
Go to the Library and check out the September, 1979 issue of =Scientific American=. It's a good
intro. Lots of excellent diagrams. [They [W. F. Freeman] also published it as a book, so you might
be able to find it in bookstores, but I don't have the title.]

ken

"Chris Brunner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> Hello people, [...]
 
There is a MUCH newer _Scientific American_ special "Brain" issue. Again, go to amazon.com.

(You'd send this kid to the **1979** version? Before PET, before MRI, before molecular
neurochemistry?????)

"kenneth p Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Go to the Library and check out the September, 1979 issue of =Scientific American=. It's a good
> intro. Lots of excellent diagrams. [They [W. F. Freeman] also published it as a book, so you might
> be able to find it in bookstores, but I don't have the title.]
>
> ken
>
> "Chris Brunner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:p[email protected]...
> > Hello people, [...]
 
"Scott Oakman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> There is a MUCH newer _Scientific American_ special "Brain" issue. Again, go to amazon.com.
>
> (You'd send this kid to the **1979** version? Before PET, before MRI, before molecular
> neurochemistry?????)

Yeah, with well-substantiated reason to do so.

To begin, it's best to start somewhere the beginning. The Sept., 1979 issue of SciAM does this
pretty well.

What I'm talking about is gaining a generalized understanding of the functional neuroanatomy - it's
the 'skeleton' upon which everything else is ordered.

Gotta get it first, else the modern stuff tends to exists as aa "castle in the air".

ken

> "kenneth p Collins" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > Go to the Library and check out the September, 1979 issue of =Scientific American=. It's a good
> > intro. Lots of excellent diagrams. [They [W. F. Freeman] also published it as a book, so you
> > might be able to find it in bookstores, but I don't have the title.]
> >
> > ken
> >
> > "Chris Brunner" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:p[email protected]...
> > > Hello people, [...]
 
I strongly suggest you read "User's Guide to the Brain" by John Ratey. It is written in layman's
terms, is not a text book and has great clinical references, with the author being a psychiatrist.