In this day where research grants are the primary focus, many young investigators are thrown into neurosciences courses without any prior preparation in neuroanatomy. This book is designed to help prepare them by introducing many of the fundamentals of the nervous system. It represents the essentials of an upper level biology course on the central nervous system. It is not designed to be a clinical approach to the nervous system, but rather it approaches the nervous system from a basic science perspective that intertwines both structure and function as an organizing teaching and learning model. Medical and dental examples are included but the main focus is on neuroscience.
Neurology, more than any other system of medicine, is rooted in the firm knowledge of basic science material (i.e., the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the nervous system). This material enables students to readily arrive at diagnoses and to apply their knowledge at solving problems in clinical situations. Neuroanatomy for the Neuroscientist gives neuroscientists the tools to teach this material at levels appropriate for students at several levels of study, including undergraduate, graduate, dental, and medical school. The text also provides an updated approach to lesion localization in neurology, utilizing the techniques of computerized axial tomography (CT scanning), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Multiple illustrations demonstrating the value of these techniques in clinical neurology and neuroanatomical localization has been provided. Both authors have years of experience teaching neuroscience courses at the first or second-year level to medical and dental students. Dr. Jacobson has taught an upper-level undergraduate biology course on the central nervous system at Tufts University for many years, and Dr. Marcus conducts a problem-solving seminar at the University of Massachusetts in which all medical students participate during their clinical neurology clerkship rotation. Neuroanatomy for the Neuroscientist also provides new approaches to lesion localization in neurology, the utilization of computerized axial tomography techniques (CT scanning), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).
