Description: The induction of unconsciousness using anesthetic agents demonstrates that the cerebral cortex can operate in two very different behavioral modes: alert and responsive vs. unaware and quiescent. But the states of wakefulness and sleep are not single-neuron properties---they emerge as bulk properties of cooperating populations of neurons, with the switchover between states being similar to the physical change of phase observed when water freezes or ice melts. Some brain-state transitions, such as sleep cycling, anesthetic induction, epileptic seizure, are obvious and detected readily with a few EEG electrodes; others, such as the emergence of gamma rhythms during cognition, or the ultra-slow BOLD rhythms of relaxed free-association, are much more subtle. The unifying theme of this book is the notion that all of these bulk changes in brain behavior can be treated as phase transitions between distinct brain states.

Description: Mathematical and symmetrical analysis of the structure of molecular systems of genetic code has essential meaning for the bioinformatics, biomathematics, and biotechnology fields. Symmetrical Analysis Techniques for Genetic Systems and Bioinformatics: Advanced Patterns and Applications adds unique and novel value to the literature in these areas, compiling studies that demonstrate effective approaches to the structural analysis of genetic systems and bioinformatics. This groundbreaking reference advances the knowledge available to researchers, educators, and students about new mathematical methods and tools, phenomenological results and interdisciplinary connections in the fields of molecular genetics, bioinformatics, computer informatics, and mathematical and theoretical biology.

Description: The hippocampus is thought to play a role in the short-term storage of declarative memories in the human brain. Our understanding of its anatomy, physiology and molecular structure has expanded rapidly in recent years. Yet much still needs to be done to decipher the function of the detailed microcircuits. This overview of our current knowledge of the hippocampus also provides a snapshot of the state of the art of ongoing research into these microcircuits.

Description: Motion processing is an essential piece of the complex brain machinery that allows us to reconstruct the 3D layout of objects in the environment, to break camouflage, to perform scene segmentation, to estimate the ego movement, and to control our action. Although motion perception and its neural basis have been a topic of intensive research and modeling the last two decades, recent experimental evidences have stressed the dynamical aspects of motion integration and segmentation. This book presents the most recent approaches that have changed our view of biological motion processing. These new experimental evidences call for new models emphasizing the collective dynamics of large population of neurons rather than the properties of separate individual filters. Chapters will stress how the dynamics of motion processing can be used as a general approach to understand the brain dynamics itself.

Description: This book is the first to be dedicated to the bioinformatics of carbohydrates and glycoproteins. It provides an introduction to this emerging field of science both for the experimentalist working in glycobiology and glycomics, and also for the computer scientist looking for background information for the development of highly sophisticated algorithmic approaches. The book provides an overview of the state-of-the-art in the field, with reviews on databases, and the tools in use for analysis, interpretation, and prediction of the structures of complex carbohydrates, and demonstrates the value of bioinformatics for glycobiology.

Description: Introduction to Computational Cardiology provides a comprehensive, in-depth treatment of the fundamental concepts and research challenges involved in the mathematical modeling and computer simulation of dynamical processes in the heart, under normal and pathological conditions. This book is based on the author's lecture notes from his course 'Introduction to Computational Cardiology' in the Department of Computer Science within the University of California, Los Angeles. It also encompasses the scientific discoveries made by the author, his doctoral students, and his colleagues in the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. in the last 35 years.

Description: Research into the 3D Physiological Human is a very active field focusing on the creation of patient-specific computer models for personalised healthcare. Reporting on how these models can simulate and provide a better understanding of human physiology and pathology, this book also looks at how the evolution and the improvement of technological devices such as scanners, medical instruments, and computer power have helped in our understanding of the human body and its functionalities.

Description: Due to the tremendous accumulation of data for genetic markers, pharmacogenomics, the study of the functions and interactions of all genes in the overall variability of drug response, is one of the hottest areas of research in biomedical science. Statistical and Computational Pharmacogenomics presents recent developments in statistical methodology with a number of detailed worked examples that outline how these methods can be applied. This comprehensive volume provides key tools needed to understand and model the genetic variation for drug response and equips statisticians with a thorough understanding of this complex field and how computational skills can be employed.

Description: Over 500 prokaryotic genomes have been sequenced to date, and thousands more have been planned for the next few years. While these genomic sequence data provide unprecedented opportunities for biologists to study the world of prokaryotes, they also raise extremely challenging issues such as how to decode the rich information encoded in these genomes. This comprehensive volume includes a collection of cohesively written chapters on prokaryotic genomes, their organization and evolution, the information they encode, and the computational approaches needed to derive such information. A comparative view of bacterial and archaeal genomes, and how information is encoded differently in them, is also presented. Combining theoretical discussions and computational techniques, the book serves as a valuable introductory textbook for graduate-level microbial genomics and informatics courses.

Description: Mass spectrometry is fast becoming an indispensable field for medical professionals. The mass spectrometric analysis of metabolites and proteins promises to revolutionize medical research and clinical diagnostics. As this technology rapidly enters the medical field, practicing professionals and students need to prepare to take full advantage of its capabilities.
Medical Applications of Mass Spectrometry addresses the key issues in the medical applications of mass spectrometry at the level appropriate for the intended readership. It will go a long way to help the utilization of mass spectrometry in medicine.