The First Brain The Neuroscience of Planarians

About this book

Planarians, a class of flatworm, are extraordinary: they possess the remarkable ability to regenerate lost body parts, including complete regeneration of the nervous system. If cut into pieces, each piece of the planarian can regenerate into a complete organism. They are also unique among invertebrates in that they display addiction-like behaviors to many drugs abused by humans. Because of these distinct neurological traits, the planarian is often used as an animal model in neurological research, being used most recently for developments in neuropharmacology.

The First Brain is a discussion of how planarians have been used in neuropharmacology, and what role they have played in scientific developments that have a high impact on our culture. Planarians have been the animal models for research in drug addiction, antidepressant development, and various other topics in biology, neurobiology, and even zoology. Pagán uses these flatworms as a framework to explore the history of biological research. The First Brain provides accessible background information on how biomedical research is impacted by evolution, and defines neurobiology and neuropharmacology in ways that are easy to understand. At the same time, Pagán provides enough detail for the book to be useful for scientists working in various subsections of biology.

The planarian has played a key role in the history biological, neuropharmacological, and zoological research, and has even made appearances in a few unexpected places in popular culture. Oné Pagán explores all these roles, and shows us why the planarian truly is one of the most extraordinary and influential organisms in scientific research today.

Contents

Introduction
Part I - Fundamentals
Chapter 1. Science
Chapter 2. Biomedical Research

Part II - The Science of the Brain
Chapter 3. An introduction to neuroscience
Chapter 4. The human brain
Chapter 5. Some brief thoughts on pharmacology

Part III - Planarians
Chapter 6. Planarians
Chapter 7. Planarians in modern biology
Chapter 8. Planarians in the popular culture: The arts, science fiction, fantasy and humor

Part IV - The First Brain
Chapter 9. The first brain
Chapter 10. From corals and plants to planarians and rats

Epilogue
References - Books
References - Articles

Customer Reviews

Biography

Oné Pagán is Professor of Biology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.