Discovering the Brain
Discovering the Brain

Author: National Academy of Sciences

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1992-01-01

Total Pages: 195

ISBN-13: 0309045290

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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."

The Neuropsychology of Mental Illness
The Neuropsychology of Mental Illness

Author: Stephen J. Wood

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2009-10

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 0521862892

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Describes neuropsychological approaches to the investigation, description, measurement and management of a wide range of mental illnesses.

Higher-order Motor Disorders
Higher-order Motor Disorders

Author: H.-J. Freund

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 507

ISBN-13: 9780198525769

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This is the first book to offer a comprehensive overview of higher-order motor disorders. It introduces new concepts emerging from basic neurosciences and shows how they have impacted on the field of cognitive motor control and led to new vistas for the understanding of Higher-order Motor Disorders far beyond the traditional field of topological diagnosis. It describes in detail a wide range of clinical disorders including those of bimanual co-ordination, apraxia and sensorimotor transformation deficits, motor neglect, anarchic hand syndrome, imitation and utilisation behaviours, action motivational and action monitoring disorders, as well as new approaches to motor cortex plasticity and reorganisation and rehalibitation of complex movement problems. The book reviews the topic, starting with a description of the neuroanatomical, neurobiological and cognitive basis of normal motor behaviours, before moving on to cover the clinical features of the disordered states. The final chapters cover the issues of plastcity and recovery, pharmacological treatments and rehabilitation. This volume will stimulate research and foster new insights into cognitive and motivational motor disorders. With expert contributions from the major international centres in Europe and the Americas his book gives a truly new framework for a complex and confusing field.

The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes
The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes

Author: Micah M. Murray

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2011-08-25

Total Pages: 800

ISBN-13: 1439812179

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It has become accepted in the neuroscience community that perception and performance are quintessentially multisensory by nature. Using the full palette of modern brain imaging and neuroscience methods, The Neural Bases of Multisensory Processes details current understanding in the neural bases for these phenomena as studied across species, stages of development, and clinical statuses. Organized thematically into nine sub-sections, the book is a collection of contributions by leading scientists in the field. Chapters build generally from basic to applied, allowing readers to ascertain how fundamental science informs the clinical and applied sciences. Topics discussed include: Anatomy, essential for understanding the neural substrates of multisensory processing Neurophysiological bases and how multisensory stimuli can dramatically change the encoding processes for sensory information Combinatorial principles and modeling, focusing on efforts to gain a better mechanistic handle on multisensory operations and their network dynamics Development and plasticity Clinical manifestations and how perception and action are affected by altered sensory experience Attention and spatial representations The last sections of the book focus on naturalistic multisensory processes in three separate contexts: motion signals, multisensory contributions to the perception and generation of communication signals, and how the perception of flavor is generated. The text provides a solid introduction for newcomers and a strong overview of the current state of the field for experts.

Touch and Blindness
Touch and Blindness

Author: Morton A. Heller

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2006-04-21

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 1135619301

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Research on touch and blindness has undergone rapid transformation in recent years, with dramatic developments in technology designed to provide assistance to those who are blind, and advancements in robotics that demand haptic interfaces. Touch and Blindness approaches the study of the topic from the perspectives of psychological methodology and the most sophisticated, state-of-the-art techniques in neuroscience. This book, edited by well-known leaders in the field, is derived from the discussions presented by speakers at a conference held in 2002, and presents current research in the field. The book is arranged in a logical, disciplinary fashion, first discussing touch and blindness from a psychological perspective, followed by an examination from the perspective of neuroscience. Some specific topics include: *processing spatial information from touch and movement; *form, projection, and pictures for the blind; *neural substrate and visual and tactile object representations; and *the role of visual cortex in tactile processing. Touch and Blindness is ideal for researchers in psychology and neuroscience, medicine, and special education.

The Visual Brain in Action
The Visual Brain in Action

Author: David Milner

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-10-12

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 0198524722

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First published in 1995, this book presents a model for understanding the visual processing underlying perception and action, proposing a broad distinction within the brain between two kinds of vision: conscious perception and unconscious 'online' vision.

Neurology of Vision and Visual Disorders
Neurology of Vision and Visual Disorders

Author:

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2021-04-06

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 0128213787

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Neurology of Vision and Visual Disorders, Volume 178 in the Handbooks of Neurology series provides comprehensive summaries of recent research on the brain and nervous system. This volume reviews alterations in vision that stem from the retina to the cortex. Coverage includes content on vision and driving derived from the large amount of time devoted in clinics to determining who is safe to drive, along with research on the interplay between visual loss, attention and strategic compensations that may determine driving suitability. The title concludes with vision therapies and the evidence behind these approaches. Each chapter is co-written by a basic scientist collaborating with a clinician to provide a solid underpinning of the mechanisms behind the clinical syndromes. - Reviews the neurological underpinnings of visual perception disorders - Encompasses the cortex to the retina - Covers functional organization, electrophysiology and subcortical visual pathways - Discusses assessment, diagnosis and management of visual perception disorders - Includes international experts from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Singapore, and the UK and US

The Neural Basis of Early Vision
The Neural Basis of Early Vision

Author: A. Kaneko

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-13

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 4431684476

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Researchers in recent decades have elucidated signal transduction in the retina and the function of the visual cortex. The highly flexible nature of neural circuits in the visual cortex especially during the critical period has been an interesting subject for studying neural plasticity and development. Recent advances in the visual neurosciences of the vertebrate retina and the visual cortex were discussed during the 12th Keio International Symposium for Life Science and Medicine, meeting jointly with Vision Forum 2002. Contributions to the symposium collected in this volume reflect the convergence of physiological, cell biological, molecular, mathematical, and clinical approaches. The book covers topics ranging from phototransduction to visual information processing in the primary visual cortex, and includes clinical studies on hereditary night blindness, creating a valuable source of information for researchers and clinicians in the visual neurosciences.

The Neural Basis of Free Will
The Neural Basis of Free Will

Author: Peter Tse

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 0262019108

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The issues of mental causation, consciousness, and free will have vexed philosophers since Plato. This book examines these unresolved issues from a neuroscientific perspective. In contrast with philosophers who use logic rather than data to argue whether mental causation or consciousness can exist given unproven first assumptions, Tse proposes that we instead listen to what neurons have to say. Because the brain must already embody a solution to the mind--body problem, why not focus on how the brain actually realizes mental causation? Tse draws on exciting recent neuroscientific data concerning how informational causation is realized in physical causation at the level of NMDA receptors, synapses, dendrites, neurons, and neuronal circuits. He argues that a particular kind of strong free will and downward mental causation are realized in rapid synaptic plasticity. Recent neurophysiological breakthroughs reveal that neurons function as criterial assessors of their inputs, which then change the criteria that will make other neurons fire in the future. Such informational causation cannot change the physical basis of information realized in the present, but it can change the physical basis of information that may be realized in the immediate future. This gets around the standard argument against free will centered on the impossibility of self-causation. Tse explores the ways that mental causation and qualia might be realized in this kind of neuronal and associated information-processing architecture, and considers the psychological and philosophical implications of having such an architecture realized in our brains.