Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Basic electrophysiological techniques have been used for years to address fundamental biological questions in the peripheral and central nervous system. Recently these have evolved to include optical as well as electrical recording methods. This chapter, describes some of these methods and their application to the study of neuronal organization in the neonatal mouse spinal cord.

Publication of research is an important though often neglected aspect of the research pathway. Although often perceived as the final link in the chain, an ever increasing emphasis on audit dictates that the research ultimately with be judged on the quality of publications emanating from it. In turn, this will influence the availability of future research grants. Therefore, it is sensible to plan likely outlets for any research findings at the very earliest stage of an application for funding. If, on consideration, there are unlikely to be any obvious outlets for the results, the wouldbe researcher should give very careful thought to the value of embarking on the research project in the first place.

This chapter will consider commonly used methods for describing and analyzing data. We begin with an introduction to some important basic statistical concepts and then focus on some of the most well used methods of analysis for observational and intervention studies. The two types of data we will discuss in detail are and data. For further reading, we recommend consulting a medical statistics textbook.

Research is the future, and the future is research! We believe that this mantra is the fundamental basis for successful basic science and clinical research applicable to medical practice. As is very much apparent, many characteristics of current medical practice require medical staff to have at least some exposure to basic science research. In the future, we anticipate many institutions worldwide will provide specific courses on clinical research for all health professionals, as is occurring in UK professional regulatory bodies. For the near future, well-established techniques will continue to be used, refined and, combined, such as the use of tissue microarrays, immunohistochemistry, and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Moreover, newer techniques will be introduced at the protein, RNA, and DNA levels, allowing the researcher a wide array of tools to address important scientific and clinical hypotheses. Notably, on the horizon is the widespread introduction of nanotechnology. We believe the use of nanotechnology in research has no bounds, if properly regulated, and will allow rapid advancements in research as well as potentially providing the scientific basis for cures of currently terminal diseases.