Nanoneuroscience is the study of computationally relevant biomolecules found inside neurons. Because of recent technological advances at the nanometer scale, scientists have at their disposal increasingly better ways to study the brain and the biophysics of its molecules. This book describes how biomolecules contribute to the operations of synapses and perform other computationally relevant functions inside dendrites. These biomolecular operations considerably expand the brain-computer analogy - endowing each neuron with the processing power of a silicon-based multiprocessor. Amazingly, the brain contains hundreds of billions of neurons.
Author(s): Nancy J. Woolf, Avner Priel, Jack A. Tuszynski (auth.)
Series: Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 280
Tags: Nanotechnology;Neurobiology;Biophysics and Biological Physics;Biomedical Engineering
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
Introducing Nanoneuroscience as a Distinct Discipline....Pages 1-34
Nanoscale Components of Neurons: From Biomolecules to Nanodevices....Pages 35-84
The Cytoskeleton as a Nanoscale Information Processor: Electrical Properties and an Actin-Microtubule Network Model....Pages 85-127
Nanocarriers and Intracellular Transport: Moving Along the Cytoskeletal Matrix....Pages 129-176
Nanotechnology, Nanostructure, and Nervous System Disorders....Pages 177-226
Novel Modes of Neural Computation: From Nanowires to Mind....Pages 227-273
Back Matter....Pages 275-279
