RT Book, Section SR Print(0) ID 1101675621 T1 Preface T2 Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Edition YR 2014 FD 2014 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-139011-8 LK neurology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1101675621 RD 2024/03/28 AB The ultimate goal of neural science is to understand how the flow of electrical signals through neural circuits gives rise to mind—to how we perceive, act, think, learn, and remember. Although we are still many decades away from achieving this level of understanding, neuroscientists have made significant progress in gaining insight into the neural mechanisms underlying behavior, the observable output of the nervous systems of humans and other organisms. We are also beginning to understand the disorders of behavior associated with neurological and psychiatric disease. As in the earlier editions of this book, we emphasize in this edition that behavior can be examined in terms of the electrical activity of both individual neurons and systems of nerve cells by seeking answers to five basic questions. How does the brain develop? How do nerve cells in the brain communicate with one another? How do different patterns of interconnections give rise to different perceptions and motor acts? How is the communication between neurons modified by experience? How is that communication altered by disease?