Molecular and Cellular Physiology of Neurons
Fain is an expert on the physiology of vision, and has based his book on lectures he gave to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates at the University of California at Los Angeles. As someone who has struggled for 25 years to get similar ideas on neural signaling across to my students, I know this will be a joy to use in teaching. Fain explains complex concepts with exquisite clarity. (David WallisNew Scientist)The choice of topics has the liveliness that reflects the day-to-day enthusiasms of a subject in its prime. Here are topics that are difficult to integrate completely under one banner because the molecular mechanisms neurons use to signal are genuinely so diverse…I find Fain's approach remarkably refreshing. (Jonathan AshmoreTrends in Neuroscience)What is so wonderful about this book is the way Fain has removed [the] dichotomy [between molecular and cellular biology] by interweaving cellular and molecular studies into a seamless discussion of how neurons work. The sense of unity is further nurtured by redrawing original data from numerous classic papers to conform to common display formats, aided by many helpful illustrations by the author's wife...An excellent work. (D. M. SensemanChoice)A beautifully written book for the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate student. Fain explains complex concepts exquisitely and clearly. This handsome volume will be a joy to teach from. (John Dowling, Harvard University)Every student of the brain needs to understand how the electrical events that underlie neural signaling are generated. With the publication of Gordon Fain's book, we now have a place to turn for a clear and thorough exposition of the origin of action potentials and synaptic signals. Fain's unique contribution is to integrate seamlessly the new and the old. His serious treatment of classical experiments reflects the rigor of the masters that founded this field: Katz, Hodgkin and Huxley. At the same time, Fain brings us up to date on the more recent single-channel and molecular work that has identified the properties of the individual proteins that generate neural signals. (John Lisman, Brandeis University)