The relations between the connection topology and the functional properties can

also be studied, and much more. Finally, we envision studying the effects of the environment during the development of such neuronal systems. We hypothesize that enriched environments will give rise to a broader range of structural and dynamical measures (such as axonal/dendritic arbors, connectivity characteristics, synaptic sizes and strengths, cellular and population excitability status). We expect that these, in turn, will lead to enhanced functional capacities. These developmental experiments, and the rest of the above plan, have yet to be completed. Acknowledgments The research outlined above was partially supported by grants from the Israel Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Science Foundation (S.M.) and the Etai Sharon Rambam Atidim Program for Excellence in Research. I wish Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to thank Shimon Marom for helpful

discussions and lasting guidance. Abbreviations: CFP conditional firing probability; MEA multi-electrode array. Footnotes Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

High-altitude illnesses encompass the pulmonary and cerebral syndromes that occur in non-acclimatized individuals shortly after rapid ascent to high altitude. The most common of these syndromes is acute mountain sickness (AMS) which is described in the editorial, “See Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Nuptse and Die”, as “vile at best, fatal at worst and an entity to be avoided”.1 Nuptse, meaning west peak, rises next to Mount Everest Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and is commonly viewed from elevations ranging from 3,000–5,000 meters (Figure 1). Excluding Antarctica, only 2.5% of the world’s land mass lies above 3,000 m, yet these heights attract the tourist, hiker, skier, and mountaineer, many of whom dwell near 5-FU supplier sea-level.1 Millions of visitors travel to high altitudes every year,

and, with the growth of ecotourism and global adventure travel, ever-increasing numbers of people of all ages are hiking and climbing to very high and even extreme altitudes (Table 1). At 3,000 m, an altitude commonly encountered in ski resorts, the partial Sodium butyrate pressure of oxygen (PO2) Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical is only about 70% of the value at sea-level; at 5,000 m, this value falls to 50% (Table 2). Many high-altitude travelers will be poorly prepared for their trip and naive about the associated risks. This review has two purposes: the first is to highlight the basic physiologic responses to high-altitude hypoxia to provide a context for understanding high-altitude illnesses; the second is to discuss specific risk factors, prevention, and treatment options for acute mountain sickness (AMS) and the potentially fatal syndromes of high altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema so that physicians and health care professionals can appropriately advise travelers ascending to high altitude. The review is organized by specific topics to allow the reader to quickly identify areas of interest.