Towards a Theoretical Neuroscience: from Cell Chemistry to Cognition

Towards a Theoretical Neuroscience: from Cell Chemistry to Cognition

Author: L Andrew Coward

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-08-23

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 940077107X

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The book explains how to understand cognition in terms of brain anatomy, physiology and chemistry, using an approach adapted from techniques for understanding complex electronic systems. These techniques create hierarchies of information process based descriptions on different levels of detail, where higher levels contain less information and can therefore describe complete cognitive phenomena, but are more approximate. The nature of the approximations are well understood, and more approximate higher level descriptions can therefore be mapped to more precise detailed descriptions of any part of a phenomenon as required. Cognitive phenomena, the anatomy and connectivity of major brain structures, neuron physiology, and cellular chemistry are reviewed. Various cognitive tasks are described in terms of information processes performed by different major anatomical structures. These higher level descriptions are selectively mapped to more detailed physiological and chemical levels.


Brain Mechanisms

Brain Mechanisms

Author: L. Andrew Coward

Publisher: FriesenPress

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 402

ISBN-13: 1525597922

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Brain Mechanisms: Linking Cognitive Phenomena to Neuron Activity shows how to understand higher cognition in terms of brain anatomy, physiology and chemistry. Natural selection pressures have resulted in all information processes in the brain being one of just two general types: condition definition/detections and behavioural recommendation definition/integrations. Using these information process types, hierarchies of description can be created that map from cognitive phenomena to the activity of the billions of neurons in the brain. These hierarchies make it possible to create an intuitively satisfying understanding of how neuron activity results in human memory, consciousness and self-awareness. These ideas were previously described at a technical level in Towards a Theoretical Neuroscience: from Cell Chemistry to Cognition. This book presents the ideas for a more general readership.


Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury

Author: Mark J. Ashley

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 768

ISBN-13: 1498710328

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The fourth edition of this text constitutes a continuation of 20 years of coverage of traumatic brain injury, and broadens the discussion of acquired brain injury. Within TBI, the paradigm shift from an injury occurring at a point in time to a disease entity of a chronic nature is changing the discussion of diagnosis, management, treatment and outcome assessment. Disease specification that differentiates TBIs by the mechanism of injury, the exact nature of the injury, the extent of injury, presence of co-morbidities and their exact nature, gender, age, race, and genome are emerging as crucial. Disease differentiation has impacted diagnosis, treatment and outcome.


Consciousness in Humanoid Robots

Consciousness in Humanoid Robots

Author: Antonio Chella

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2019-06-05

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 2889458660

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Building a conscious robot is a scientific and technological challenge. Debates about the possibility of conscious robots and the related positive outcomes and hazards for human beings are today no longer confined to philosophical circles. Robot consciousness is a research field aimed at a two-part goal: on the one hand, scholars working in robot consciousness take inspiration from biological consciousness to build robots that present forms of experiential and functional consciousness. On the other hand, scholars employ robots as tools to better understand biological consciousness. Thus, part one of the goal concerns the replication of aspects of biological consciousness in robots, by unifying a variety of approaches from AI and robotics, cognitive robotics, epigenetic and affective robotics, situated and embodied robotics, developmental robotics, anticipatory systems, and biomimetic robotics. Part two of the goal is pursued by employing robots to advance and mark progress in the study of consciousness in humans and animals. Notably, neuroscientists involved in the study of consciousness do not exclude the possibility that robots may be conscious. This eBook comprises a collection of thirteen manuscripts and an Editorial published by Frontiers in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, under the section Humanoid Robotics, and Frontiers in Neurorobotics, on the topic “Consciousness in Humanoid Robots.” This compendium aims at collating the most recent theoretical studies, models, and case studies of machine consciousness that take the humanoid robot as a frame of reference. The content in the articles may be applied to many different kinds of robots, and to software agents as well.


Visual Alterity

Visual Alterity

Author: Randall Halle

Publisher: University of Illinois Press

Published: 2021-03-30

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0252052595

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Reconsidering the dynamics of perception Using cinema to explore the visual aspects of alterity, Randall Halle analyzes how we become cognizant of each other and how we perceive and judge another person in a visual field. Halle draws on insights from philosophy and recent developments in cognitive and neuroscience to argue that there is no pure "natural" sight. We always see in a particular way, from a particular vantage point, and through a specific apparatus, and Halle shows how human beings have used cinema to experiment with the apparatus of seeing for over a century. Visual alterity goes beyond seeing difference to being conscious of how one sees difference. Investigating the process allows us to move from mere perception to apperception, or conscious perception. Innovative and insightful, Visual Alterity merges film theory with philosophy and cutting-edge science to propose new ways of perceiving and knowing.


Macroneural Theories in Cognitive Neuroscience

Macroneural Theories in Cognitive Neuroscience

Author: William R. Uttal

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2015-07-24

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1317392736

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In this book, William R. Uttal continues his analysis and critique of theories of mind. This book considers theories that are based on macroneural responses (such as those obtained from fMRI) that represent the averaged or cumulative responses of many neurons. The analysis is carried out with special emphasis on the logical and conceptual difficulties in developing a theory but with special attention to some of the current attempts to go from these cumulative responses to explanations of the grand question of how the mind is generated by the brain. While acknowledging the importance of these macroneural techniques in the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain, Uttal concludes that this macroneural approach is not likely to produce a valid neural theory of cognition because the critical information—the states of the individual neurons—involved in brain activity becoming mental activity is actually lost in the process of summation. Controversial topics are considered in detail including discussions of empirical, logical, and technological barriers to theory building in cognitive neuroscience.


Bio-inspired Modeling of Cognitive Tasks

Bio-inspired Modeling of Cognitive Tasks

Author: José Mira

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2007-06-30

Total Pages: 646

ISBN-13: 3540730532

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The first of a two-volume set, this book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Work-Conference on the Interplay between Natural and Artificial Computation, IWINAC 2007, held in La Manga del Mar Menor, Spain in June 2007. It includes all the contributions mainly related with theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects linking AI and knowledge engineering with neurophysiology, clinics and cognition.


The Twenty-First Century Mechanistic Theory of Human Cognition

The Twenty-First Century Mechanistic Theory of Human Cognition

Author: Diego Azevedo Leite

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-11-30

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 3030636801

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This book presents a theoretical critical appraisal of the Mechanistic Theory of Human Cognition (MTHC), which is one of the most popular major theories in the contemporary field of cognitive science. It analyses and evaluates whether MTHC provides a unifying account of human cognition and its explanation. The book presents a systematic investigation of the internal and external consistency of the theory, as well as a systematic comparison with other contemporary major theories in the field. In this sense, it provides a fresh look at more recent major theoretical debates in this area of scientific research and a rigorous analysis of one of its most central major theories. Rigorous theoretical work is integrated with objective consideration of relevant empirical evidence, making the discussions robust and clear. As a result, the book shows that MTHC provides a significant theoretical contribution for the field of cognitive science. The content is useful for those interested in theoretical and empirical issues concerning major theories in the contemporary field of cognitive science.


The Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior

The Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior

Author: John Hart (Jr.)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0190219033

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"Neurobiology of Cognition and Behavior" is a cognitive neuroscience that maps cognitive/behavioral units with anatomical regions in the human brain. The brain-behavioral associations are based on functional neuroimaging combined with lesion studies. The findings will be used to explain differences in clinical syndromes with videos of patients included.