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| View Larger Image | Principles of Neural Science
by Eric R. Kandel, James H. Schwartz, Thomas M. Jessell
| | List Price: | $120.00 | | Price: | $83.16 | | You Save: | $36.84 (31%) |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 2031 | | Studio: | McGraw-Hill Medical | | | Binding: | Hardcover | | Number Of Pages: | 1414 | | Publication Date: | January 05, 2000 | | Publisher: | McGraw-Hill Medical |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Now in resplendent color, the new edition continues to define the latest in the scientific understanding of the brain, the nervous system, and human behavior. Each chapter is thoroughly revised and includes the impact of molecular biology in the mechanisms underlying developmental processes and in the pathogenesis of disease. Important features to this edition include a new chapter - Genes and Behavior; a complete updating of development of the nervous system; the genetic basis of neurological and psychiatric disease; cognitive neuroscience of perception, planning, action, motivation and memory; ion channel mechanisms; and much more. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 40 reviews)
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Very extensive, yet VERY dry 
This is a great book for an all questions answered guide to neuroscience. It has a chapter for what seems like every possible topic that could be speculated on with some certainty. However, as a consequence of it's thoroughness, it is not the kind of text book you can just pick up and read. In my opinion, you need to get turned on to a topic by some other source (a lecture, another text book, Wikipedia surfing) and then get the detail from this gigantic text book.
A testament to how thick it is, because it has had a couple of trips in my backpack, its binding is starting to sag from the hard cover.
Definitely not for the faint of heart.
June 29, 2008 | |
Great material 
When I picked up this book, I had little clue about the science behind neuroscience and more importantly as to how physiologists think. For the engineer/mathematician, there is plenty of information for the uninitiated. A MUST for your reference shelf on account of its high-density resource on the subject.
March 11, 2008 | |
great book 
This is a great book by any standard. A massive amount of information in the vast field of neuroscience is covered in detail and synthesized in a coherent fashion. In addition to Eric Kandel's pioneering laboratory research, this book is one of his great contributions to neuroscience, and of course many other scientists contributed to it, including James Schwartz and Thomas Jessell. It's as good as the best textbooks I've read, such as Alberts' Molecular Biology of the Cell. It covers up to date research, in addition to the history of the field. Topics range from the molecular workings of the neuron all the way up to behavior. It's not at all dumbed down, so someone seeking a "CliffsNotes" version of the field should look elsewhere. I suppose, however, if someone just wants a summary of the field, he can simply read the subheadlines in each chapter. The book is lengthy due to its detail, but the intelligent general reader should readily understand nearly all of it. And in spite of its length it actually is concise in covering this broad range of subject matter. Author of Adjust Your Brain: A Practical Theory for Maximizing Mental Health.
November 30, 2007 | |
Unless you are into behavioral neuroscience keep looking
Kandel is an outstanding Nobel laureate. Unfortunately, his capabilities as a writer don't match his capabilities as a researcher.
Now, I am a medical student, and used this book for neurophysiology. The book is big and blabby, in that concepts aren't very clear and they sure aren't summarized. There is a lot of material pertaining to experiments on animals (mainly rats, cats, and monkeys) which are then generalized to humans, following the classical behavioral and developmental neuroscience models.
If you need or expect to deepen your understanding of molecular and cognitive neuroscience by using this book, run away. Furthermore, when it comes to the specific topics, the sensory system and apparatuses are done very well, but this is not the case for the motor system (very very very confused!), let alone the so called "superior functions" (cognitive functions are described poorly, with a pour-pourri of "maybe this" and "maybe that"). It's also a good starter for CNS ion channels, but as I said it's just a starter.
If you are a medical student, read the sensory system and do the rest elsewhere. If you are a cognitive or molecular neuroscientist, just run. If you are a behavioral neuroscientist, this might be a good intro to the topic.
November 06, 2007 | |
Beware of the digital upgrade
I wanted to forewarn other users, especially students, of the pitfalls of the digital upgrade option:
1) Don't buy the upgrade if you're hoping to get access to it through the library computers, instead of having to lug the massive book to school. Apparently, you cannot view any online book from more than 7 different computers within a 30 day period. And, consequently, if the cache happens to get cleared after each session (as is the case with most shared computers), then you're limited to only 7 sessions with ANY computer.
2) Beware that the book is hard to read online. It's great for adding annotations (highlighting text, adding bookmarks, typing notes, etc.), but it's a real strain on the eyes if you try to read a full chapter. The text is low contrast (gray on white) and low resolution. Even when you use the Zoom-in feature (which lets you increase the size a little bit), it's still hard on the eyes. The text is still just blurry enough to make you think you might need glasses. After several chapters, you probably will need glasses :-)
p.s. I have continued to try to use the digital updgrade (through Amazon Online Reader), and have encountered another major issue that I wanted to warn others about... Don't rely on the online reader for note taking. As technology is notorious for, you risk loosing everything. I like to use the highlight and bookmark feature, but after a day of reading and annotating, I just found that everything I've done in the past 24 hours has been lost. The digital reader may become more of a liability than a feature worth paying for.
September 05, 2007 | |
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