David J. Price

an introduction to neural development

Building brains

Matthew Zabel

Description - Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development provides a concise, molecular and cellular view into the mechanisms required for a basic understanding of how brains are built. 
 
Purpose - The authors sought to highlight the best understood and most interesting aspects of the genetic instructions and molecular pathways involved in guiding the development of the brain for students interested in neuroscience, but who might also lack knowledge in this and other related fields. Because development in general is best depicted visually, the authors succeeded in portraying the developmental process with many colorful illustrations delineating the biochemical, molecular and cellular contributions to the growing brain.

Audience - Ideal for students seeking to grasp a simplistic understanding of the complex process that is brain development, this text succeeds in laying down the foundation for further, more vigorous investigation for aspiring post-graduate endeavors in basic science research and clinical medicine. 

Content/ Features - With clear, color-coordinated drawings, the authors first introduce methods for how scientists today study the developing brain in multiple model organisms. They follow with the anatomy of neural development and discuss the molecular and cellular interactions required for proper neural migration, patterning and mapping. Although a systems approach was not the objective, the text lacks even a discrete section on brain anatomy. This would be beneficial to students not familiar with the final organization of the nervous system. Then the authors demonstrate axon and dendrite guidance, and how the activity of certain networks within the brain influence structure and function of those networks. To accomplish the goal of simplifying a complex subject, the authors provide a section on common conventions and abbreviations, along with a thorough glossary of words that are also bolded in the main text. In addition, more complex, "high yield" concepts are directly defined in the page margin. For those interested in pursuing a higher degree of understanding, the authors provide a well bolstered reference section consisting of scientific reviews pertinent to the chapter content. A second edition may include in its reference section more original research papers, although this is not a complete loss to the textbook's audience. Of particular value to those interested in research in this field, is the diversity of model organisms represented in the figures. 

Assessment/ Comparison - Overall, the authors of this textbook provide their readers with a visually appealing, straightforward, and easily accessible resource depicting the developmental mechanisms required for building a brain. Most resources on developmental neurobiology are apart of a larger neuroscience text, of which only a small portion of the information is contributed to development. Price et al. provide an excellent intermediary between the small excerpt of a large neuroscience volume and more complex depictions of brain development such as the less recent publication, "The Developing Brain," by Brown et al. Like all endeavors in science, new knowledge is accumulating at an exponential pace and as such, the reader should look to more recent publications in the scientific literature to further expand on the sound foundation established by this text.

Building brains an introduction to neural development

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