Defining Neural Stem Cells and Their Role in Normal Development of the Nervous System -- Embryonic Stem Cells and Neurogenesis -- The Cellular and Molecular Properties of Multipotent Neural Stem Cells -- Multipotent Stem Cells in the Embryonic Nervous System -- Neural Crest Formation and Diversification -- Glial Nature of Adult Neural Stem Cells:  Neurogenic Competence in Adult Astrocytes -- Neural Stem Cell Death Regulation in Nervous System Development and Disease -- Stem Cells of the Adult Olfactory Epithelium -- Retinal Stem Cells -- Transdifferentiation in the Nervous System -- Neural and Dopaminergic Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells -- Mobilization of Neural stem cells in the Adult Central Nervous System -- Stem Cell Pathways in Brain Tumors.

For the third edition of this work Dr. Rao and his fellow editors have worked diligently with the contributors to revise and expand each chapter.  Additional information about our understanding of the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into the various neural cell types has been included. Particular attention has been focused on the chapters describing retinal epithelium and neuroglial differentiation, as these cells are currently being delivered in early phase clinical trials. Given the recent findings about the importance of cell death in tumorigenesis, the issue of cell death regulation in the nervous system has been further explored.  The issue of transdifferentiation has also been discussed and extensively updated given the recent findings on direct differentiation and reprogramming of cells.