Books in the Colloquium Series on The Developing Brain series

Pattern formation has fascinated biologists since the time of Aristotle, but only recently have new tools begun to reveal the underlying mechanisms that create these patterns during development. This title focuses on pattern formation in the developing cerebellum.

Describes the important role of the immune system, including microglia, during brain development, and discusses some of the many ways in which immune activation during early brain development can affect the later-life outcomes of neural function, immune function, and cognition.

The corpus callosum is the largest fibre tract in the human brain and subserves many of the brain's higher-order functions. Disconnection syndromes resulting from surgical ablation, developmental absence (agenesis of the corpus callosum), disease, or injury of the corpus callosum can have profound consequences on cognition.

The involvement of key factors operating independently or in cooperation with others contributes to physical and physiological mechanisms to help engineer a vertebrate hypothalamus. The actions of these key factors influence developmental mechanisms including neurogenesis, cell migration, cell differentiation, cell death, axon guidance, and synaptogenesis.

Hypertension is defined by an increase in systemic blood pressure above limits considered normal. In this work, rather than providing the exhaustive list of modifications in the blood pressure regulating systems that ultimately affect the vasculature in hypertension, we will focus on the structural and functional alterations of vascular smooth muscle per se during hypertension.

Addresses the evidence for endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) action on the developing brain. Topics covered include background about EDCs, evidence for exposures, concerns about EDC effects in the developing organism, and particularly on the developing nervous system, how EDCs perturb the brain's neuroendocrine systems, and transgenerational epigenetic effects of EDCs.

Adolescent brain development is a fascinating, newly developing field that has so much to offer almost anyone interested in learning more. In this book, the authors compare adolescent behavioural changes with ongoing changes in the brain and discuss potential implications for health and educational policy-making.