The brain beyond the synapse: a review.

Several topics in contemporary neuroscience are treated in historical perspective. These include the localizationist-connectionist model of brain function and its influence on experimental neuroscience and clinical management of brain damaged persons; brain plasticity; the accumulating evidence for non-synaptic diffusion neurotransmission (NDN) as a major mechanism of information transmission in the brain; and the co-existence of plasticity and localization as well as of synaptic and non-synaptic mechanisms. The status of theory in the neurosciences is examined.