Carleton's Histological Technique

BASIC IDEAS IN NEUROPHYSIOLOGY. By Tristan D. M. Roberts. (Pp. 108 and XI; illustrated. 25s). London: Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. THESE two books can be conveniently considered together since the second volume is composed of the first four or five chapters of the first. The author is a senior lecturer in the Department of Physiology in Glasgow and has brought to his task many years of experience in explaining to students the complexities of the workings of the nervous system. The first few chapters of the first volume deal with the modern views on the basic phenomena of neuronal function, i.e. maintenance of membrane potential, excitation, conduction, synaptic transmission and receptor activation. The later chapters deal with the manner in which neuronal activity is integrated in the central nervous system to regulate posture and locomotion. Most students find these areas of study rather depressing because of the plethora of Sherringtonian reflexes whose relevance to ordinary locomotion seems obscure. In the present state of knowledge it is hard to avoid this. The author has made a valiant effort to keep a sense of reality in his descriptions. The parts dealing with the servo control of muscular activity are especially good. I would accept the publishers statement on the dust cover, "Anyone who is concerned with movement in man or in animals should find this book both stimulating and helpful". I.C.R.