Neuroanatomy was one of those courses in medical school that was either detested (by many, I am afraid) or loved. For those of us who became clinical or basic neuroscientists, neuroanatomy was an epiphany, a revealing of logical relationships between brain structures that translated logically into function. However, at the end of a first year medical student's course in neuroanatomy (especially in my case now 33 years ago), one was left with more questions than answers. The introductory neuroanatomy texts barely brushed the surface of many structure-function relationships, especially in the case of the cerebral cortex.

That was where a lineal ancestor of this book by the author's father, Alf Brodal, played a unique role. In that now classic text Neurological Anatomy in Relation to Clinical Medicine (classic in the original narrow sense of the word, given the revolutionary changes in neuroscience over the 50 years since its first edition), A. Brodal provided the neuroscience student with much more detail and insight than was available in typical introductory neuroanatomy texts.

P. Brodal's book, the third edition, is completely different from his father's, both in its currency, of course, but also in its lavish use of drawings, diagrams, MR scans, histograms, graphs and highlighted clinical sidebars. The diagrams are two-colored, which seems adequate though not eye-catching. Although the book is not printed on glossy paper, the MR scans and photomicrographs are crisp and easy to view.

This book could easily be used as a text for a full semester course on neuroanatomy, or more precisely neuroscience. Both introductory neurophysiology and neuroanatomy are covered. It would be suitable for medical students, graduate students in psychology and for post-graduate physicians in neurology or psychiatry residencies. The level of detail is probably more than is needed for a 4 or 5 week survey course, but such brief courses don't do the discipline justice anyway.

The book is organized in a traditional fashion by system. There is an extensive treatment of both the sensory, autonomic and motor systems, from receptors to cortex. There are chapters that are largely devoted to the neuroanatomy of the brainstem. The final chapters cover the limbic system and the cerebral cortex.

Generally, I was pleased with the treatment of the core aspects of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Basic concepts of neuron structure and function are covered well in chapters 1 and 2. Reflecting the integration of physiology into anatomy, there are well-developed sections on major neurotransmitters. Traditional neuroanatomic principles such as the organization of the brainstem receive extensive attention. In addition to the traditional coverage of the various sensory and motor pathways of the brainstem, an entire chapter, with many photographs and diagrams, is devoted to the structure and connectivity of the brainstem reticular formation.

My only disappointment in this book was in the area of higher cortical functions. Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect more from a book that is already 462 pages of text, but the discussion of the anatomic bases of higher cortical function was somewhat disappointing. Consider chapter 8 on the Auditory system, and the corresponding sections on the cerebral cortex. The end organ is described with at least 5 diagrams, an MR scan and a photomicrograph. Two diagrams describe the central auditory pathways, and one diagram specifically depicts the primary auditory cortex. The treatment of the cerebral components of the auditory system, both the primary physiology of the auditory cortex and then the later description of cerebral disorders of auditory processing and language, were less satisfactory. The topic of aphasia was accorded a total of 2 pages, and one diagram that depicted the mythical arcuate fasciculus. The sections on the hippocampus and learning were better, but there was a missed opportunity in clinical correlation in failing to show an MR scan of someone with Alzheimer disease or an infarct in the hippocampus, or a photomicrograph of selective destruction of CA1 following cardiac arrest (though a case with such a lesion is discussed). Cortical processing of visual information was also somewhat underemphasized. Although the work of Hubel and Wiesel is discussed, there were no diagrams or elaboration that might have brought this fascinating work into the spotlight.

This reviewer did not perform an exhaustive comparison of similar texts, but I did visit our medical bookstore and glance through the competition. There are much briefer surveys of neuroanatomy, atlases of neuroanatomy, and core texts of neuroanatomy. The Central Nervous System by P. Brodal certainly compares favorably to these. There were two other books, Fundamentals of Neuroscience edited by L. Squire et al. and Principles of Neural Science edited by E. Kandel et al. that were more detailed and thorough in their coverage. However, both of these latter books were over 1300 pages, and thus nearly 2.5 times larger than Brodal's.

Overall, as a basic text for learning or reviewing neuroanatomy, I enjoyed reading The Central Nervous System. It is a very worthwhile addition to the library of students and established clinicians and researchers, as its presentation of many aspects of neuroscience are up to date, authoritative and very helpful for ready access.