Brain Mechanisms in Mental Retardation

Series on Mental Retardation held in Oxnard, California, in January 1974.
This book compiles research on neurobiological findings which might lead to an understanding of the basic processes underlying the phenomena of mental deficiency and related aspects of human development.
The topics discussed include the timing of major ontogenetic events in the visual cortex of the rhesus monkey; neuronal sprouting after hippocampal lesions; synaptic and dendritic development and mental defect; and CNS maturation and behavioral development. The neuronal control of neurochemical processes in the basal ganglia; nigrostriatal projections and the "dopamine receptor ; and effects of caudate nuclei removal in cats are also deliberated. This text likewise covers the effects of caudate nuclei removal versus frontal cortex lesions in kittens and role of biochemistry in research on mental retardation
This publication is beneficial to medical practitioners and students concerned with mental retardation.

Contenu

List of Contributors and Participants
Foreword
Welcoming Remarks
Part I Development of Neuronal Functions
1 Timing of Major Ontogenetic Events in the Visual Cortex of the Rhesus Monkey
References
2 Effects of Interference with Cerebellar Maturation on the Development of Locomotion. An Experimental Model of Neurobehavioral Retardation
References
3 Neuronal Sprouting after Hippocampal Lesions
References
4 Physiological Properties of Vertebrate Nerve Cells in Tissue Culture
References
4A Discussion: Biochemical Studies in Various Culture Systems of Neural Tissues
References
5 Synaptic and Dendritic Development and Mental Defect
References
6 Normal and Aberrant Neuronal Development in the Cerebral Cortex of Human Fetus and Young Infant
References
6A Discussion: CNS Maturation and Behavioral Development
References
6B Discussion: Development of Postsynaptic Potentials Recorded from Immature Neurons in Kitten Visual Cortex
References
Part II Role of the Basal Ganglia in Normal and Abnormal Development
7 Neurophysiological and Anatomical Interrelationships of the Basal Ganglia
References
8 Neuronal Control of Neurochemical Processes in the Basal Ganglia
References
8A Discussion: L-Dopa-Induced Improvement of Conditioned Response Inhibition
References
8B Discussion: Acetylcholine and the Caudate
References
9 Dopamine-Containing Neurons of the Substantia Nigra and Their Terminals in the Neostriatum
References
9A Discussion: Nigrostriatal Projections and the "Dopamine Receptor"
References
10 Effects of Caudate Nuclei Removal in Cats. Comparison with Effects of Frontal Cortex Ablation
References
Part III Behavioral Plasticity during Development
11 Brainstem Substrates of Sensory Information Processing and Adaptive Behavior
References
11A Discussion: Neurophysiological Substrates of Behavioral Habituation and Conditioning
References
12 Unit Recordings during Pavlovian Conditioning
References
12A Discussion: "Operant Sensitization" and Some Remarks on Unit Recording in Conscious Animals
References
13 Age, Sex, and Experience as Related to the Neural Basis of Cognitive Development
References
13A Discussion: Effects of Caudate Nuclei Removal versus Frontal Cortex Lesions in Kittens
References
14 Prenatal Nutrition and Neurological Development
References
15 The Futility of Comparative IQ Research
References
Part IV Metabolic Defects in Development
16 Hepatic Phenylalanine Hydroxylase and PKU
References
16A Discussion: Phenylalanine Hydroxylase in Human Kidney; Relevance to Phenylketonuria
References
17 Studies on the Molecular Defect in Galactosemia
References
18 The Enzymology of Tay-Sachs Disease and Its Variant Forms
References
18A Discussion: Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, an Unusual Case with a Subtle Cerebroside Sulfatase Defect
References
19 Role of Biochemistry in Research on Mental Retardation
References
Epilogue
References
Author Index
Subject Index