Periphery bookcover

Periphery

How Your Nervous System Predicts and Protects Against Disease
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Description

A leading neuroscientist argues that the peripheral nervous system, long understood to play a key role in regulating basic bodily functions, also signals the onset of illness.

The central nervous system, consisting of the brain and the spinal cord, has long been considered the command center of the body. Yet outside the central nervous system, an elaborate network of nerve cells and fibers extends throughout our bodies, transmitting messages between the brain and other organs. The peripheral nervous system, as it's known, regulates such vital functions as heart rate, digestion, and perspiration and enables us to experience the barrage of sounds, tastes, smells, and other sensory information that surrounds us. But beyond these crucial roles, the peripheral nervous system might do even more: it might warn us of diseases in our future.

As Moses Chao argues in Periphery, from Parkinson's disease to autism to dementia, many neurological conditions emerge not in the brain but rather within the peripheral nervous system, in the dense network of nerves that wrap around the gastrointestinal tract. What's more, dysfunctions of the peripheral nervous system can signal the onset of disease decades before symptoms like tremor or memory loss occur. Fortunately, unlike nerves in the brain and spinal cord, peripheral nerves can heal and regenerate in response to injury and aging. The therapeutic implications are remarkable. Chao shows how, with a better understanding of the peripheral nervous system, we could not only predict and treat neurological diseases long before their onset, but possibly prevent them altogether.

Full of new ideas and bold interpretations of the latest data, Periphery opens exciting avenues for medical research while deepening our understanding of a crucial yet underappreciated biological system.

Product Details

PublisherHarvard University Press
Publish DateOctober 24, 2023
Pages192
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconHardback
EAN/UPC9780674972308
Dimensions8.2 X 5.8 X 0.9 inches | 0.8 pounds

About the Author

Moses V. Chao is Professor of Cell Biology, Physiology and Neuroscience, and Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and past president of the Society for Neuroscience, he is a recipient of the Zenith Award from the Alzheimer's Association, a Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Reviews

A sweeping tour...Chao proves to be a capable guide, and at many points it feels as if he is a personal mentor sitting at the front of a small classroom, expounding on his years of experience.--Sara Manning Peskin "American Scientist" (11/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)
[An] eye-opening debut...Chao makes a convincing case that scientists would do well to focus research on the [peripheral nervous system] and its relationship with disease.-- "Publishers Weekly" (7/25/2023 12:00:00 AM)
Engaging and well-written. Chao makes a compelling case for the role the peripheral nervous system plays in contributing to diseases that affect the central nervous system, delightfully weaving together historical accounts of neurological diseases with cutting-edge science.--Ahmet Hoke, Director of the Division of Neuromuscular Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
A long-awaited book, revealing just how deeply the brain is embedded in the body. By illuminating the neuronal and humoral systems that coordinate our physiology--both with and without the brain--Chao shows that the peripheral nervous system is not at all peripheral in terms of importance.--György Buzsáki, author of The Brain from Inside Out
An excellent guide to an important topic. The peripheral nervous system has long been seen as a second-class citizen with respect to the brain, but Chao shows that this is deeply misguided: without the periphery, the brain would be unable to sense the world, act in it, or even survive.--Joseph E. LeDoux, author of The Four Realms of Existence: A New Theory of Being Human

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