Recent advances in EEG and EMG data processing

366 Recent Advances in EEG and EMG Data Processing, by Nariyoshi Yamaguchi and Kiyoshi Fujisawa (Eds.), xiv + 421 pages, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, Amsterdam, 1981, US$ 62.98, Dfl 148.00. In September 1981 an International Conference on EEG and EMG Data Processing was held il~ Kanazawa, preceding the International Congress of EEG and Clinical Neurophysiology in Kyoto. This book, edited by two eminent Japanese colleagues was very promptly published by Elsevier as :~ series of multi-author contributions on data processing. Each paper presents the material in a didactic way with no discussion amongst the participants. Each contributor adds references, some covering few lines and others one or two pages (one four pages). The illustrations are nicely presented with appropriate explanations. An Author and a Subject index complete this book and the printing is on the whole very good, bearing in mind that the volume was ready to be sold within a few weeks from the Conference. Six topics are covered, each one including several papers on "Theory and Instrument"; "'Analysis of Basic Rhythm"; "Applied Physiology"; "Clinical EEG and Related Events"; "Clinical EMG and Related Events" and "Fundamentals and Clinical Applications". It is difficult to comment on each paper, some of which contain too many formulae and complex calculations for many readers of this Journal. It would be unkind to give a list of "difficult" writers but the contributions of other authors are very good, whether selected from the East or from the West. This book therefore should be recommended to those who are already familiar with the field o f electrophysiological data processing, particularly in electroencephalography and electromyography with an urge to enlarge their views and able to swim through a new and complex language. The majority of clinicians in the United Kingdom should not be frightened but might need some remedial tuition or at least a life buoy. G. Pampiglione

Integrative Control Functions of the Brain, Vol. III, by M. Ito, N. Tsukahara, K. Kubota, K. Yagi (Eds.), 400 pages, Elsevier/North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1981, US$107.25. This is the third volume of papers relating to a wide variety of aspects o f neuroscience by Japanese authors. Numerous short papers are interspersed with longer review articles. The papers are somewhat loosely grouped into sections: Elementary processes of the nervous system; Neural mechanisms of sensation; Motor control; Cardiac and respiratory control; Control of the digestive system; Neuroendocrine control; Sleep-wakefulness; Learning and memory. A critical review o f this mass o f diverse interests is scarcely possible. The energy and inventiveness o f the contributors is astonishing, but it seems likely that anyone interested in, at random example, the control o f circadian rhythm o f serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity in the pineal gland of immature rats, would no doubt already be familiar with published work on the subject. Nevertheless the book is a monument to the industry of authors and editors, is beautifully produced and could not fail to be of value to scientists in the field of neurocontrol. W. B. Mattbews

Neuronal Ageing and its Implications in Human Neurological Pathology (Report of a WHO Study Group) (World Health Organization Technical Report Series No. 665), 88 pages, World Health Organization, Geneva, 1981, Sfr 6.00. This is a small concise publication which is divided into 10 sections. A short introduction attempts to put the subject in perspective and prepares the reader for the fact that this, like so many other recent publications in this field, is going to be principally concerned with senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type. The next section on basic aspects of neuronal ageing covers morphological details and more