Invertebrate Neurobiology

BOOK REVIEWED-Invertebrate Neurobiology

edited by Geoffrey North and Ralph J. Greenspan
(Scion, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: 2007. £65.34, $135)

CSHL PRESS

This monograph brings together two groups of scientists — molecular geneticists who study invertebrate organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila, and classical ethological entomologists.

Invertebrate nervous systems are testament to the impressive range of solutions animals have evolved to live in all kinds of niches. The essays play on this diversity to illustrate molecular and cellular mechanisms of neural function, and higher-level circuits and systems.

Topics include 'Optic flow processing in the cockpit of the fly'; 'Insect walking'; 'Memories of worms and flies: From gene to behavior'; and 'Neuroendocrinology of eclosion'.

As Greenspan says, a lack of neuroanatomical homology with vertebrates may belie a deeper commonality in network architecture and in interactions among brain regions. The book assesses the universality of brain mechanisms and cognitive features, providing some useful pointers to what researchers studying vertebrate systems can learn from invertebrates.

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