Exploration Of Cortical Function

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Exploration of Cortical Function

Author: M. Stetter
language: en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date: 2002-01-31
Exploration of Cortical Function summarizes recent research efforts aiming at the revelation of cortical population coding and signal processing strategies. Topics include optical detection techniques of population activity in the sub-millimeter range, advanced methods for the statistical analysis of these data, and biologically inspired neuronal modeling techniques for population activities in the frameworks of optimal coding, statistical learning theory, and mean-field recurrent networks. Exploration of Cortical Function is unique in that it covers one complete branch of population-based brain research ranging from techniques for data acquisition over data analysis up to modeling techniques for the quantification of functional principles. The volume covers an area which is of great current interest to researchers working on cerebral cortex. The combination of models and image analysis techniques to examine the activity of large cohorts of neurons is especially intriguing and prone to considerable error and debate. The intended readership is students and researchers from many disciplines, including neuroscience, biology, physics, and computer science, interested in how an interdisciplinary framework from biology advanced statistics and computational neuroscience can be used to gather a quantitative understanding of cortical function. Experimentalists may gain insight into statistical and neuronal modeling techniques, whereas theoreticians will find an introductory treatment of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and measurement techniques.
Discovering the Brain

Author: National Academy of Sciences
language: en
Publisher: National Academies Press
Release Date: 1992-01-01
The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."
Neurodynamics: An Exploration in Mesoscopic Brain Dynamics

Author: Walter Freeman
language: en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date: 2012-12-06
Cortical evoked potentials are of interest primarily as tests of changing neuronal excitabilities accompanying normal brain function. The first three steps in the anal ysis of these complex waveforms are proper placement of electrodes for recording, the proper choice of electrical or sensory stimulus parameters, and the establish ment of behavioral control. The fourth is development of techniques for reliable measurement. Measurement consists of comparison of an unknown entity with a set of standard scales or dimensions having numerical attributes in preassigned degree. A physical object can be described by the dimensions of size, mass, density, etc. In addition there are dimensions such as location, velocity, weight, hardness, etc. Some of these dimensions can be complex (e. g. size depends on three or more subsidiary coordi nates), and some can be interdependent or nonorthogonal (e. g. specification of size and mass may determine density). In each dimension the unit is defined with refer ence to a standard physical entity, e. g. a unit of mass or length, and the result of measurement is expressed as an equivalence between the unknown and the sum of a specified number of units of that entity. The dimensions of a complex waveform are elementary waveforms from which that waveform can be built by simple addition. Any finite single-valued function of time is admissible. They are called basis functions (lO, 15), and they can be expressed in numeric as well as geometric form.