Foundations of Neurobiology & Student CD-Rom : with Student CD-ROM

Rating:
Summary: Basic principles nicely presented but depth is missing
Review: Foundations of Neurobiology presents things really clearly, is easy to read and makes things easy to understand. Foundations of Neurobiology is really excellent book for those high school students and other interested individuals with no background in biological sciences who would like to learn something about neurobiology. There are some pictures where explanations have slipt to wrong places but this cannot be expected to confuse readers too much, for things are stated correctly and very clearly in text. It could be said that this book gives quite comprehensive glance at foundations of neurobiology. However, I would not recommendate Foundations of Neurobiology for students who have taken basic biology courses in university and who are thus at least to some extend familiar with basic ideas about membrane proteins, migration of cells, chemotaxis, sensory systems, growth factors, membrane potential, cellular signaling etc. Or, to be more precise, I would not recommendate this book for use as an _only_ textbook but if you are reading on nice-to-know basis only or as a lead and repetition to understand other, more thorough books, this is really the book for you. For some parts it lacks the depth that is needed in university neurobiology courses e.g. on the part of the molecular level of axon guidance, and neuronal movement and development nervous system are practically not discussed at all. This should of course be expected, for in the back of the book it is stated that "Foundations of Neurobiology allows students with only a background in general biology the chance to explore this vibrant science." (General biology should be interpreted as "with little knowledge about basics of modern biology including cell biology, structural biology, molecular biology and biochemistry".) Well, it's a fine book, though I personally would have liked more detailed information. But that's just my perverse mind and thus four stars is the grade for Delcomyn's Foundations of Neurobiology.