The Brain of the Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum

Abstract

This book by the dean of American neuroanatomists contains much more than the title indicates. Its first, more general part, gives an over-all view of the brain of this amphibian, and discusses the physiologic and morphologic implications. It is well suited to the nonspecialist. Indeed, it is one of the most brilliant and lucid introductions to comparative neurology ever written. The basic plan of the vertebrate brain and how it works (chapter VI) and the changes which the different parts of the brain underwent during phylogenesis and which culminated in the development of the cerebral cortex (chapter VII) are described succinctly and clearly, and the value of morphologic studies for a broader understanding of man is discussed (chapter VIII). The second part contains a detailed analysis of the fiber tracts and cell masses in the brain. This documentary material will be appreciated by the experienced worker in the field of