The English edition of this book has been prepared from the third Gem1an edition published in December 1974. The first two German editions, published in 1971 and 1972, respectively, were very well received in Germany. We hope that this English version will enjoy a similar popularity by students wishing to understand the essential concepts relevant to the fascinating field of neurophysiology. The evolution of this book has been unique. The first edition was based on a series of lectures pre...

Since the first English edition of this book appeared three years ago, the authors have received many useful comments from readers. In preparing this amended edition we have carefully examined each chapter, improving and expanding the text where necessary; in the process, we have been greatly helped by their remarks. Further commentary on this edition will be much appreciated. Again, I should like to express the gratitude of all the authors to the staff of Springer-Verlag for expediting th...