Experimental evidence in humans and other mammalians indicates that complex neurodynamics is crucial for the emergence of higher-level intelligence. Dynamical neural systems with encoding in limit cycle and non-convergent attractors have gained increasing popularity in the past decade. The role of synchronization, desynchronization, and intermittent synchronization on cognition has been studied extensively by various authors, in particular by authors contributing to the present volume. This book addresses dynamical aspects of brain functions and cognition.

Fundamentals of Cognitive Neuroscience: A Beginner's Guide, Second Edition, is a comprehensive, yet accessible, beginner's guide on cognitive neuroscience. This text takes a distinctive, commonsense approach to help newcomers easily learn the basics of how the brain functions when we learn, act, feel, speak and socialize. This updated edition includes contents and features that are both academically rigorous and engaging, including a step-by-step introduction to the visible brain, colorful brain illustrations, and new chapters on emerging topics in cognition research, including emotion, sleep and disorders of consciousness, and discussions of novel findings that highlight cognitive neuroscience's practical applications. Written by two leading experts in the field and thoroughly updated, this book remains an indispensable introduction to the study of cognition. - Winner of a 2019 Textbook Excellence Award (College) (Texty) from the Textbook and Academic Authors Association - Presents an easy-to-read introduction to mind-brain science based on a simple functional diagram linked to specific brain functions - Provides new, up-to-date, colorful brain images directly from research labs - Contains "In the News" boxes that describe the newest research and augment foundational content - Includes both a student and instructor website with basic terms and definitions, chapter guides, study questions, drawing exercises, downloadable lecture slides, test bank, flashcards, sample syllabi and links to multimedia resources

This change of perspective results in a radically new vision of how the brain functions

The Cambridge Handbook of Consciousness is the first of its kind in the field, and its appearance marks a unique time in the history of intellectual inquiry on the topic. After decades during which consciousness was considered beyond the scope of legitimate scientific investigation, consciousness re-emerged as a popular focus of research towards the end of the last century, and it has remained so for nearly 20 years. There are now so many different lines of investigation on consciousness that the time has come when the field may finally benefit from a book that pulls them together and, by juxtaposing them, provides a comprehensive survey of this exciting field. An authoritative desk reference, which will also be suitable as an advanced textbook.

Part I attempts to review the background, basic sources of data, concepts, and methodology to be employed in the study of perceptrons. In Chapter 2, a brief review of the main alternative approaches to the development of brain models is presented. Chapter 3 considers the physiological and psychological criteria for a suitable model, and attempts to evaluate the empirical evidence which is available on several important issues. Chapter 4 contains basic definitions and some of the notation to be used in later sections are presented. Parts II and III are devoted to a summary of the established theoretical results obtained to date. Part II (Chapters 5 through 14) deals with the theory of three-layer series-coupled perceptrons, on which most work has been done to date. Part III (Chapters 15 through 20) deals with the theory of multi-layer and cross-coupled perceptrons. Part IV is concerned with more speculative models and problems for future analysis. Of necessity, the final chapters become increasingly heuristic in character, as the theory of perceptrons is not yet complete, and new possibilities are continually coming to light. (Author).

Gualtiero Piccinini presents a systematic and rigorous philosophical defence of the computational theory of cognition. His view posits that cognition involves neural computation within multilevel neurocognitive mechanisms, and includes novel ideas about ontology, functions, neural representation, neural computation, and consciousness.

One of the nation's leading neuroscientists presents a radically new view of the function of the brain and the nervous system. Its central idea is that the nervous system in each individual operates as a selective system resembling natural selection in evolution, but operating by different mechanisms. This far-ranging theory of brain functions is bound to stimulate renewed discussion of such philosophical issues as the mind-body problem, the origins of knowledge and the perceptual bases of language. Notes and Index.

Experimental evidence in humans and other mammalians indicates that complex neurodynamics is crucial for the emergence of higher-level intelligence. Dynamical neural systems with encoding in limit cycle and non-convergent attractors have gained increasing popularity in the past decade. The role of synchronization, desynchronization, and intermittent synchronization on cognition has been studied extensively by various authors, in particular by authors contributing to the present volume. This book addresses dynamical aspects of brain functions and cognition.

I think, therefore I am. The legendary pronouncement of philosopher René Descartes lingers as accepted wisdom in the Western world nearly four centuries after its author's death. But does thought really come first? Who actually runs the show: we, our thoughts, or the neurons firing within our brains? Walter J. Freeman explores how we control our behavior and make sense of the world around us. Avoiding determinism both in sociobiology, which proposes that persons' genes control their brains' functioning, and in neuroscience, which posits that their brains' disposition is molded by chemistry and environmental forces, Freeman charts a new course--one that gives individuals due credit and responsibility for their actions. Drawing upon his five decades of research in neuroscience, Freeman utilizes the latest advances in his field as well as perspectives from disciplines as diverse as mathematics, psychology, and philosophy to explicate how different human brains act in their chosen diverse ways. He clarifies the implications of brain imaging, by which neural activity can be observed during the course of normal movements, and shows how nonlinear dynamics reveals order within the fecund chaos of brain function.

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.