The Psychopharmacology of Lithium

however, somewhat outdated. This volume is organized into four sections. The first section discusses the physiology of binocular vision and oculomotor coordination. That section was originally written by Burian in 1970, and is outdated in places because more recent research has clarified some of the older questions. While the chapters in the portion on binocular vision are excellent, some of the areas pertaining to the physiology and neuroanatomy of eye movements are not current. For instance, in the chapter on physiology of ocular movements, although a number of older techniques and devices are illustrated, the newer and highly popular magnetic search coil technique of measuring eye position is omitted. Similarly, the "pulse-step" mechanism for the generation of saccades is not discussed, nor is the superior colliculus mentioned as a site for the coordination of head and eye movements. Although prefaced by a statement to the effect that a detailed knowledge of oculomotor neuroanatomy is not essential for the diagnosis and treatment of strabis-mus, the chapter on neuroanatomy is poor. Its references date between 1897 and 1969. This fact would seem to indicate that the chapter has not been updated since the first edition, although understanding of the complex interactions between visual and oculomotor systems in the brain has been greatly expanded. The old belief that the frontal eye fields are concerned only with horizontal movements is no longer held to be true. The idea that the crossed corticofugal pathway is excitatory while the uncrossed component is inhibitory to the respective ocular muscles is based upon the belief that the frontal eye fields project directly to the abducens nuclei. It has been known for several years that these cortical areas project, instead, to a surrounding area of the brainstem, the paramedian pontine reticular formation; this area has been termed the brainstem saccade generator and, in turn, projects to the oculomotor nuclei. Furthermore , the projection from the frontal cortex to the superior colliculus is not discussed, nor is the direct projection from the retina. This chapter stands in marked contrast to the rest of the book, which is of the highest quality. In future editions, this chapter should be either deleted as unimportant or extensively updated. The second section gives a brief history of theories on the etiology of strabismus and discusses at length examination of the patient. This part is thorough, laden with illustrations and references. The third section discusses …