Fundamental Neuroscience

In my humble opinion, Fundamental Neuroscience, edited by D.E. Haines, is an undiscovered gem! I am particularly impressed by the illustrations; this textbook combines actual photographs of brains, various types of brain scans, histological plates and color-coded schematic diagrams to give the best and most complete presentation of the nervous system that I have ever seen in my 30 years of university research and teaching. Whenever I have a question in mind concerning some basic aspect of the structure and function of the nervous system, I usually find myself leafing through this textbook to find the answer. Clearly, this book was written primarily for medical students; there are numerous excellent examples of clinical cases that can help cement the extensive information about the function and anatomy of the nervous system to the problems actually facing patients with neurological disorders. Some mention is also made of chemical and molecular mechanisms in neurotransmission, but in my opinion, this topic is not treated adequately. After all, most of the problems facing patients with neurological disorders are treated with drugs, so a thorough knowledge of the anatomical location and role of neuroreceptors is essential for medical students. Be that as it may, Fundamental Neuroscience spells out the circuitry of the nervous system more clearly than any other textbook that I know about, and this reason is enough for me to recommend it highly for those who need either to learn the topic from scratch or to have a comprehensive and well-written reference book on the shelf for consulting occasionally.