Neurologic Disease A Modern Pathophysiologic Approach to Diagnosis a
This novel title explores the central and peripheral nervous system in health and disease. By first establishing a fundamental basic science knowledge about the cellular elements of the nervous system, the reader is then presented with clinical cases in a
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Neurologic Disease A Modern Pathophysiologic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment
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Neurologic Disease
Michael Andrew Meyer
Neurologic Disease A Modern Pathophysiologic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment
Michael Andrew Meyer, M.D. Department of Neurology Guthrie Clinic Corning, NY, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-39579-1 ISBN 978-3-319-39581-4 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-39581-4
(eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016943316 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland
Preface
We all want to know this answer: How does our brain work? “…I am conscious… but how?” is a question every person asks at some time… “… I think, therefore I am” said Descartes in the seventeenth century—but how does the brain actually think? How does a highly interconnected mass of nerve cells process information, and simultaneously is aware of itself and surroundings in the form of consciousness? As neurologists, we unfortunately see patients slip away into a world of unconsciousness from which they may never return, despite our best efforts to save them. We can define what is lost and how—we know that the absence of higher cortical functions leaves patients in an irretrievable state of brain death with only the most primitive brain stem and/or spinal reflexes, but how exactly does a viable network of interconnected areas of cerebral cortex generate consciousness and meaningful human existence? “… I think, therefore I am.” These seventeenth-century words of Descartes remind us how the brain defines who we are. Without proper functioning of the brain, our very sense of who we are can disappear—without a functioning brain, there is no quality of life, and we have come to measure life as just that. For the unfortunate ICU patient who has suffered a prolonged cardiac arrest and then revived, a pumpi
