The book on Processes of Recovery from Neural Trauma contains the proceedings of an international symposium which was sponsored by the Weizmann Institute of Science and was held in June 1984 in Israel. One of the central problems in neurobiology and clinical neurology are the processes which underlie the ability of the nervous system to recover from damage. Neurons of the mammalian nervous system cannot be replaced once the generative embryonic period has ended. Thus, recovery after trauma is limited by the degree to which regeneration of damaged neural processes is possible and by the capac­ ity of uninjured neurons to form new synaptic contacts or to use their existing ones more effectively. The lack of successful axon regeneration in the central nervous system is the reason for the permanent damage and the very limited recovery of function seen in victims of traumatic injury. Over the past few years, research on neural trauma has witnessed significant progress, resulting from interdis­ ciplinary research carried out in an increasing number of laboratories throughout the world. Accordingly, the book includes reports on the progress made in the forefront of research in this field. We hope that in addition to being a source of new informa­ tion, readers of the book will be stimulated to work and to generate new ideas and research strategies in this field of research.

Table of Contents:
Neuronal Response to Nerve Trauma.- Reaction of Motoneurons and Their Microenvironment to Axotomy.- Coupling Among Neurons in Neocortical Slices: A Specific Response to Dendrotomy.- Regeneration of Axons in the Mammalian Visual System.- Axonal and Glial Proteins Associated with Development and Response to Injury in the Rat and Goldfish Optic Nerve.- Signals of External Origin Can Trigger Injured Adult Rabbit Optic Nerves to Express Regeneration-Like Responses.- Tissue Damage at the Site of Trauma.- Pathophysiology, Consequences and Pharmacological Prevention of Post-Traumatic CNS Ischemia.- Inflammation in Experimental Spinal Cord Injury.- Histopathology of Neural Transplants and Host Brain.- Plasticity of Intact Neurons After Trauma.- Correlative Morphological and Physiological Studies on Sprouting of Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses of Red Nucleus Neurons.- Neurochemical Events Underlying Continued Function Despite Injury to Monoaminergic Systems.- Chemically Induced Homotypic Collateral Sprouting of Hippocampal Serotonergic Afferents.- Spinal Plasticity After Nerve Injury: Mediolateral Localization of Rewired Cells.- Physiological Changes in Cortical Cells Following Partial and Complete Visual Cortex Deafferentation in Cats.- Transneuronal and Peripheral Mechanisms for the Induction of Sprouting and Synapse Formation in Amphibian and Mammalian Motor Nervous System.- Changes in Target Tissue After Trauma.- Protein Synthesis Under Dendritic Spine Synapses During Lesion-Induced Synaptogenesis: Evidence for Regulation of Reinnervation by the Target Cell.- Acetylcholine Receptor Turnover Rates at Innervated and Denervated Vertebrate Neuromuscular Junctions.- Models for Axonal Growth.- Neuronal Interactions Between Peripheral Sensory and Central Monoamine Neurons Graftedto the Anterior Eye Chamber.- Factors Influencing Axonal Growth: Central vs. Peripheral Nerve Explants as Substrates in Vitro.- Neuronal Cell Cultures and Monosialoganglioside: A Model for Comprehension of Mechanisms Underlying Central Nervous System Repair.- Regeneration on Collagen Gels of Central and Peripheral Neurons Dissociated by a New Enzyme, RDB.- Environmental Factors that Influence the Differentiation and the Development of Voltage-Dependent Sodium Channel in Cultured Dorsal Root Ganglion Cells of Newborn Rats.- Behavioral Recovery After Trauma.- Recovery from Biochemical and Behavioral Deficits in Adult Ratswith Partial Lesions of the Fimbria.- The Effects of Surgical Manipulations of the Optic Tectum.- Pharmacological Approaches to Enhance Regeneration.- Histological Factors Influencing the Growth of Axons into Lesions of the Mammalian Spinal Cord.- Gangliosides Enhance Mechanisms of Recovery from Neural Damage by a Dual Mechanism.- GM1 Ganglioside Treatment Enhance Regrowth of Central and Peripheral Noradrenaline Neurons After Selective 6-Hydroxydopamine-lnduced Lesions.- Polyamines Enhance Survival and Regeneration of Sympathetic Neurons.- Reconstruction Models to Enhance Recovery.- Nerve Regeneration Chamber: Physical and Molecular Influences.- Experimental Problems in Spinal Cord Neural Reconstruction.- Transplantation of Fetal Central Nervous System into the Adult Spinal Cord: A Possible Aid to Regeneration.- Growth and Development of Neural Transplants: Some Quantitative Parameters.- Transplantation to the Damage Adult Hippocampal Formation.- Concluding Remarks.