Texture of the Nervous System of Man and the Vertebrates

Most scientists agree that the 21st century will be the "e;Century of Biology"e;. The revolution that started a few decades ago with the extraordinary develop- ment of molecular biology, has provided the basis for the understanding of the mechanisms that govern life through the regulation of cell function and cell-to- cell interactions. Neuroscience will surely be one of the biological disciplines that will profit the most from this revolution. Neuroscience comprises the study of the brain, and the more difficult relationship of brain and behavior. It is indeed a very broad field of investigation that, from molecular biology and genetics, passing through systems physiology, functional mapping of the brain, and even human behavior, has as the ultimate goal the understanding of how the brain works. The importance of this aim is immense, since it is the only scientific approach to understanding ourselves. Today, owing to the great progress made in neuroscientific research, there is a real hope that highly complex processes such as sensory perception, ICTlg- term memory, learning and others will soon be comprehended in their entirety.