The Brain Without Oxygen

This book discusses the problem of how any interruption in energy supply to the brain of more than a few minutes results in irreversible damage. From a comparative perspective, the book presents the most recent findings concerning the pathological processes occurring in brain hypoxia and discusses in detail the defense mechanisms that allow the brains of a few vertebrate species to survive anoxia for long periods of time. It describes the processes underlying the enhanced hypoxid tolerance shown by the brains of the mammalian neonate, the hibernating mammal and the diving marine mammal. The book identifies the key processes that are protected in anoxia tolerant animals, which allow new insights into the survival hierarchy of the many systems that collapse in the energy-deprived mammalian brain.