Nerve Cells and Nervous Systems presents the general principles of the organization and function of the nervous system. The systems approach is avoided. Instead the text takes the reader from a description of the single neuron level, via the interactions between two neurons and small groups of neurons, to a consideration of the particular functional attributes of nervous systems. Neuroscience is an experimental science, and the importance of the interpretation of experimental observations is stressed throughout. Readers will find that references to papers both recent and classical are not only an excellent introduction to the literature but an encouragement to investigate it further.

1 Introduction to Nerve Cells and Nervous Systems

2 The Cell Membrane: Ionic Permeability and Electrotonic Properties
3 The Action Potential and the Nerve Impulse
4 Voltage-Gated Ion Channels in Excitable Membranes
5 General Properties of Intercellular Communication in the Nervous System
6 The Presynaptic Neuron I: Release of Neurotransmitter
7 The Presynaptic Neuron II: Neurotransmitters
8 The Postsynaptic Neuron I: Actions of Neurotransmitters
9 The Postsynaptic Neuron II: The Neuron as an Integrative Device
10 Transmission Between Pairs of Identified Neurons
11 Sense Organ Mechanisms
12 Functional Organisation in Groups of Neurons
13 Structural Organisation of Sensory and Motor Systems
14 Functional Properties of Specific Sensory and Motor Systems
15 The Nervous System and the Internal and External Environments - Homeostasis and Interactions
16 Formation, Maintenance and Plasticity of Synapses
17 Learning and Memory
References.