G7. 



M. A. CORNER, R.E.BAKER, N.E.van de POLL, D.F.SWAAB and H.B.M.UYLINGS , eds. 



1978. MATURATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 



Elsevier-North-Holland Biomed. Press, Amsterdam, etc. Progress in Brain 



Research, vol.48. XII, 425 pp., 169 figs., 38 tabs., subject index. Dfl. 160.00, 



$ 71.25 



Contents: I. Formation of i^euromuscular synapses, II. Central and sensory 

 synaptogenesis. III. Genetic programming of nervous development, IV. Sen- 

 sory influences upon neurogenesis, V. Hormonal regulation of brain matura- 

 tion, VI. Neurobehavioral ontogeny 



This book arose from a summer school held in Amsterdam in 1977. Of the 55 

 contributing authors, almost half are Dutch and 11 work at the Netherlands 

 Institute for Brain Research. The others are from various countries all over 

 the globe. All contributions are short to medium-length reviews of recent 

 work partly unpublished at the time of writing. Portions of the discussions 

 are also recorded. 



Each of the six sections contains four or five papers. Most of these deal 

 with mammalian material but some, notably in sections II and VI, describe 

 experiments on chick and frog larvae. Although the book is of course selec- 

 tive, the choice of format and topics makes for greater comprehensiveness 

 than is found in the average symposium report, and brings out those areas 

 where the most rapid advances are at present being made. 



The book is very well produced and has excellent illustrations. 



68. 



G.DORNER and M.KAWAKAMI, eds. 1978. HORMONES AND BRAIN DEVELOPMENT 

 Elsevier-North-Holland, Amsterdam, etc. Developments in Endocrinol, vol.3. 

 XIV, 473 pp., 146 figs., 65 tabs., index to contributors. Dfl. 144.00, $ 64.00 



Contents: Hormones and sex-related brain differentiation (25 papers); Hor- 

 mones and brain differentiation unrelated to sex (15); Hormones and brain 

 maturation (9) ; Hormones and brain function (9) 



This symposium was held in East Berlin in September 1978. More than two- 

 thirds of the contributors came from Eastern Europe (among them 18 from East 

 Germany) . Almost all of the 58 papers are brief research reports, reproduced 

 from apparently unedited typescripts. No discussions are recorded. 



The contents are so varied as to defy brief review. Specialists in the 

 field will no doubt find much that is of interest. Several papers deal with 

 the effects of neurotransmitters and psychotropic drugs. 



The volume is well produced and illustrated. 



69. 



S.FEDOROFF and L. HERTZ, eds. 1977. CELL, TISSUE, AND ORGAN CULTURES IN NEURO- 

 BIOLOGY 



Academic Press, New York, etc. XIV, 693 pp., 229 figs., 57 tabs., subject in- 

 dex. $ 32.50, E 20.60 



Contents: 1. Characteristics of differentiated cells (4 papers), 2. Differ- 

 entiation of cells in primary cultures (7), 3. Cell lines and cell strains 

 (3), 4. Phenotypic cell expression (7), 5. Cell interactions (6), 6. Nu- 

 trition (2), 7. Use of cell, tissue and organ cultures in neurobiology (2) 



Although this book was published more than two years ago it is important 

 enough for our readers to be briefly reviewed here. It is based on an inter- 

 national symposium held in March 1977 but many papers have been expanded, 

 some of the discussion material is incorporated as separate papers, and the 

 discussion sessions have been summarised and edited (section 7) . The book 

 has thus become an extremely useful baseline for future work by developmental 



228 



