Nauta W., Feirtag M. Fundamental neuroanatomy

New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1986. — 340 p.When one sees a new publication entitled Fundamental Neuroanatomy one might be tempted to think, “Not another anatomy textbook!” However, potential readers can rest assured that this one is different from the others. The fact that the principal author is Walle Nauta already sets the style. Nauta’s own histological technique for the demonstration of degenerating axons, in its prime from the 1950s to the 197Os, was responsible for much of what we now know about connections in the nervous system, and its usefulness is far from being exhausted. Those who know Nauta will also appreciate his encyclopedic knowledge of the nervous system, which extends far beyond the multiple fields in which he has personally conducted research. A glimpse at the chapter headings will give some idea of the scope of the book. The first chapters deal with phylogenetic development of nervous systems and nerve “nets:’ and lead to discussions of interneuronal communication, synapses, transmitters, and cellular architecture of neurons and glial cells. Although the book does not claim to provide extensive documentation on the latest discoveries in the neurosciences, one is struck by the up-todate nature of the material. For example, in these early pages we are already introduced to peptide neurotransmitters. The remainder of the first section of the book, “Preliminaries,’ deals with anatomical divisions of the nervous system and the techniques used to investigate their relationships. It must be difficult, when reflecting on how to tackle a book on neuroanatomy, to decide on whether to deal with systems or topography. Should, for instance, the motor pathways be dealt with as a whole, or taken piecemeal as they are encountered in the cortex, the brainstem, the spinal cord, and the periphery? Nauta tackles the problem simply: he uses both approaches! Thus Part II, “Connectivities:’ contains descriptions of ascending and descending pathways, including those concerned with general and special sensation, motricity and the autonomic newous system. It also deals with neocortical functions and “syndromes:’ as well as the limbic system. Perhaps naturally, emphasis is placed on Nauta’s particular favorites, the motor systems. This results in rather brief treatment of, for instance, vision and audition, which might upset some readers. However, the book does not pretend to cover all fields exhaustively. This leaves Part Ill for the “Anatomy:’ i.e., a more topographic treatment of the spinal cord, the brainstem, and the cerebral and cerebellar hemispheres, including the cortices. Nauta incorporates a series of cross sections of the brain, both photographs and drawings, including color photographs of Weigert-stained sections of the cerebral hemispheres. One may question the necessity of publishing a sort of “mini atlas:’ and if this had been the authors’ intention the criticism would be valid. However, I believe that these very beautiful illustrations should be seen in the context of the whole book, which is a work that can be understood by readers with nonspecialized backgrounds, while at the same time being attractive and interesting to the neuroscientist. In this light, the entire book can be read for its own merit; its style is not that of a textbook, but rather a story book-telling the story of the brain. The fact that the collaborating author is Michael Feirtag of Scienfific American helps explain the easy style, although some may find the text too journalistic, and even patronizing, at times. The last chapter is on “Prospects? It encourages us to reflect on a few neuroanatomical problems that have occupied minds since Cajal looked at neuronal architecture up to the era of artificial intelligence. In general the illustrations are excellent, but a few exceptions spoil the rule. For example, Figure 8, captioned “Nissl technique:’ shows a section impregnated with the Golgi method and counterstained with the Nissl technique. It would have been easy to find a real Nissl section to illustrate this historic and fundamental method. Also, there are better pictures available of retrograde neuronal tracing than that in Figure 28. However, the fact that so few illustrations can be criticized bears witness to their overall success. For the reader who might wish to delve further, there is a selected bibliography of important reference works, and the index seems fairly complete. In all then, this is an excellent and highly readable introduction to modern neuroanatomy, which, at its relatively modest price, should find its way onto the bookshelf and bedside table of profane and expert alike.I. Preliminaries
Early philogeny; the great intermediate net
The neuron; some numbers
Anatomical divisions
Axon tracig
II. Connectivities
Ascending paths
Neocortical function
Descending paths; the motor system
Innervation of the viscera
Affect and motivation; the limbic system
III. Anatomy
Ontogent; spinal cords
Hindbrain
Midbrain
Forebrain
Frontal sections
Cerebral cortex
Neocortex
Prospects