This book provides a balanced, broad and up-to-date overview of the normal and pathologic functioning of cortical neurons, and identifies the critical issues and controversies facing researchers in this exciting area.

Looking beyond the classical 'wiring-diagram' description of the organization of cortical cells into circuits, this book focuses on dynamic aspects of cerebral cortical physiology, both at the single-neuron and network levels. Recent years have seen a remarkable expansion of knowledge about the basic cellular physiology and molecular biology of cortical nerve cells - their membrane properties, their synaptic characteristics, their functional connectivity, their development, and the mechanisms of their response to injury. This book includes contributions by many of the neurobiologists and neurologists directly responsible for these advances. The four main sections of the book are: Cortical Neurons and Synapses, The Cortical Network, The Developing Cortical Neuron, and The Vulnerable Cortical Neuron. This is a balanced multidisciplinary perspective on the normal and pathological function of the cells of the cerebral cortex, identifying the controversies and critical issues facing modern researchers in this exciting field.