Brain Mechanisms in Mental Retardation

Series on Mental Retardation held in Oxnard, California, in January 1974. This book compiles research on neurobiological findings which might lead to an understanding of the basic processes underlying the phenomena of mental deficiency and related aspects of human development. The topics discussed include the timing of major ontogenetic events in the visual cortex of the rhesus monkey; neuronal sprouting after hippocampal lesions; synaptic and dendritic development and mental defect; and CNS maturation and behavioral development. The neuronal control of neurochemical processes in the basal ganglia; nigrostriatal projections and the "dopamine receptor-; and effects of caudate nuclei removal in cats are also deliberated. This text likewise covers the effects of caudate nuclei removal versus frontal cortex lesions in kittens and role of biochemistry in research on mental retardation This publication is beneficial to medical practitioners and students concerned with mental retardation.

List of Contributors and ParticipantsForewordWelcoming RemarksPart I Development of Neuronal Functions 1 Timing of Major Ontogenetic Events in the Visual Cortex of the Rhesus Monkey References 2 Effects of Interference with Cerebellar Maturation on the Development of Locomotion. An Experimental Model of Neurobehavioral Retardation References 3 Neuronal Sprouting after Hippocampal Lesions References 4 Physiological Properties of Vertebrate Nerve Cells in Tissue Culture References 4A Discussion: Biochemical Studies in Various Culture Systems of Neural Tissues References 5 Synaptic and Dendritic Development and Mental Defect References 6 Normal and Aberrant Neuronal Development in the Cerebral Cortex of Human Fetus and Young Infant References 6A Discussion: CNS Maturation and Behavioral Development References 6B Discussion: Development of Postsynaptic Potentials Recorded from Immature Neurons in Kitten Visual Cortex ReferencesPart II Role of the Basal Ganglia in Normal and Abnormal Development 7 Neurophysiological and Anatomical Interrelationships of the Basal Ganglia References 8 Neuronal Control of Neurochemical Processes in the Basal Ganglia References 8A Discussion: L-Dopa-Induced Improvement of Conditioned Response Inhibition References 8B Discussion: Acetylcholine and the Caudate References 9 Dopamine-Containing Neurons of the Substantia Nigra and Their Terminals in the Neostriatum References 9A Discussion: Nigrostriatal Projections and the "Dopamine Receptor" References 10 Effects of Caudate Nuclei Removal in Cats. Comparison with Effects of Frontal Cortex Ablation ReferencesPart III Behavioral Plasticity during Development 11 Brainstem Substrates of Sensory Information Processing and Adaptive Behavior References 11A Discussion: Neurophysiological Substrates of Behavioral Habituation and Conditioning References 12 Unit Recordings during Pavlovian Conditioning References 12A Discussion: "Operant Sensitization" and Some Remarks on Unit Recording in Conscious Animals References 13 Age, Sex, and Experience as Related to the Neural Basis of Cognitive Development References 13A Discussion: Effects of Caudate Nuclei Removal versus Frontal Cortex Lesions in Kittens References 14 Prenatal Nutrition and Neurological Development References 15 The Futility of Comparative IQ Research ReferencesPart IV Metabolic Defects in Development 16 Hepatic Phenylalanine Hydroxylase and PKU References 16A Discussion: Phenylalanine Hydroxylase in Human Kidney; Relevance to Phenylketonuria References 17 Studies on the Molecular Defect in Galactosemia References 18 The Enzymology of Tay-Sachs Disease and Its Variant Forms References 18A Discussion: Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, an Unusual Case with a Subtle Cerebroside Sulfatase Defect References 19 Role of Biochemistry in Research on Mental Retardation References Epilogue ReferencesAuthor IndexSubject Index