Salience Network of the Human Brain


Book Description

Salience Network of the Human Brain focuses on the multiple sources of stimuli that compete for our attention, providing interesting discussions on how the relative salience—importance or prominence—of each of these inputs determines which ones we choose to focus on for more in-depth processing. The salience network is a collection of regions of the brain that select which stimuli are deserving of our attention. The network has key nodes in the insular cortex and is critical for detecting behaviorally relevant stimuli and for coordinating the brain's neural resources in response to these stimuli. The insular cortex is a complex and multipurpose structure that plays a role in numerous cognitive functions related to perception, emotion, and interpersonal experience—and the failure of this network to function properly can lead to numerous neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, psychosis, and dementia. - Presents the only publication available that summarizes our understanding of the salience network in one resource - Authored by a leading research on this important aspect of attention - Focuses on the multiple sources of stimuli that compete for our attention, providing interesting discussions on how the relative salience—importance or prominence—of each of these inputs determines which ones we choose to focus on for more in-depth processing




Handbook of Neuroengineering


Book Description

This Handbook serves as an authoritative reference book in the field of Neuroengineering. Neuroengineering is a very exciting field that is rapidly getting established as core subject matter for research and education. The Neuroengineering field has also produced an impressive array of industry products and clinical applications. It also serves as a reference book for graduate students, research scholars and teachers. Selected sections or a compendium of chapters may be used as “reference book” for a one or two semester graduate course in Biomedical Engineering. Some academicians will construct a “textbook” out of selected sections or chapters. The Handbook is also meant as a state-of-the-art volume for researchers. Due to its comprehensive coverage, researchers in one field covered by a certain section of the Handbook would find other sections valuable sources of cross-reference for information and fertilization of interdisciplinary ideas. Industry researchers as well as clinicians using neurotechnologies will find the Handbook a single source for foundation and state-of-the-art applications in the field of Neuroengineering. Regulatory agencies, entrepreneurs, investors and legal experts can use the Handbook as a reference for their professional work as well.​




Brain Connectivity in Autism


Book Description

The brain's ability to process information crucially relies on connectivity. Understanding how the brain processes complex information and how such abilities are disrupted in individuals with neuropsychological disorders will require an improved understanding of brain connectivity. Autism is an intriguingly complex neurodevelopmental disorder with multidimensional symptoms and cognitive characteristics. A biological origin for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) had been proposed even in the earliest published accounts (Kanner, 1943; Asperger, 1944). Despite decades of research, a focal neurobiological marker for autism has been elusive. Nevertheless, disruptions in interregional and functional and anatomical connectivity have been a hallmark of neural functioning in ASD. Theoretical accounts of connectivity perceive ASD as a cognitive and neurobiological disorder associated with altered functioning of integrative circuitry. Neuroimaging studies have reported disruptions in functional connectivity (synchronization of activated brain areas) during cognitive tasks and during task-free resting states. While these insights are valuable, they do not address the time-lagged causality and directionality of such correlations. Despite the general promise of the connectivity account of ASD, inconsistencies and methodological differences among studies call for more thorough investigations. A comprehensive neurological account of ASD should incorporate functional, effective, and anatomical connectivity measures and test the diagnostic utility of such measures. In addition, questions pertaining to how cognitive and behavioral intervention can target connection abnormalities in ASD should be addressed. This research topic of the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience addresses “Brain Connectivity in Autism” primarily from cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging perspectives.




Systems Neuroscience in Depression


Book Description

Systems Neuroscience in Depression provides a comprehensive overview of the normal and depressed brain processes as studied from a systems neuroscience perspective. Systems neuroscience uses a wide variety of approaches to study how networks of neurons form the bases of higher brain function. A broad overview is discussed starting with a background from neurodevelopment and neural understanding as well as novel treatment approaches for depression. This book covers basic developmental aspects and depressive psychopathology, as well as the basic scientific background from animal models and experimental research. Current advances in systems neuroscience are highlighted in studies from child and adolescent psychiatry. Integrated approaches are presented with regards to genetics, neuroimaging and neuroinflammation as well as neuroendocrinology. The field of systems and network neuroscience is evolving rapidly and this book provides a greatly needed resource for researchers and practitioners in systems neuroscience and psychiatry. - Knowledge covering the whole life span from early to later life - Comprehensively written chapters developing from molecules via epigenetics and neural circuits to clinical neuroscience - Understanding the neurobiology of major depressive disorder - Integrating stress and environmental factors with molecular underpinnings - More than 25 illustrations and tables




Fiber Pathways of the Brain


Book Description

The text is enriched throughout by close attention to functional aspects of the anatomical observations."--Jacket.




Cyberpsychology and the Brain


Book Description

This book proposes a framework for integrating neuroscience and cyberpsychology for the study of social, cognitive, and affective processes.




Neuroscience in the 21st Century


Book Description

Edited and authored by a wealth of international experts in neuroscience and related disciplines, this key new resource aims to offer medical students and graduate researchers around the world a comprehensive introduction and overview of modern neuroscience. Neuroscience research is certain to prove a vital element in combating mental illness in its various incarnations, a strategic battleground in the future of medicine, as the prevalence of mental disorders is becoming better understood each year. Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by mental, behavioral, neurological and substance use disorders. The World Health Organization estimated in 2002 that 154 million people globally suffer from depression and 25 million people from schizophrenia; 91 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders and 15 million by drug use disorders. A more recent WHO report shows that 50 million people suffer from epilepsy and 24 million from Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Because neuroscience takes the etiology of disease—the complex interplay between biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors—as its object of inquiry, it is increasingly valuable in understanding an array of medical conditions. A recent report by the United States’ Surgeon General cites several such diseases: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, early-onset depression, autism, attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, anorexia nervosa, and panic disorder, among many others. Not only is this volume a boon to those wishing to understand the future of neuroscience, it also aims to encourage the initiation of neuroscience programs in developing countries, featuring as it does an appendix full of advice on how to develop such programs. With broad coverage of both basic science and clinical issues, comprising around 150 chapters from a diversity of international authors and including complementary video components, Neuroscience in the 21st Century in its second edition serves as a comprehensive resource to students and researchers alike.




Reading, Writing, Mathematics and the Developing Brain: Listening to Many Voices


Book Description

This valuable addition to the literature offers readers a comprehensive overview of recent brain imaging research focused on reading, writing and mathematics—a research arena characterized by rapid advances that follow on the heels of fresh developments and techniques in brain imaging itself. With contributions from many of the lead scientists in this field, a number of whom have been responsible for key breakthroughs, the coverage deals with the commonalities of, as well as the differences between, brain activity related to the three core educational topics. At the same time, the volume addresses vital new information on both brain and behavior indicators of developmental problems, and points out the new directions being pursued using current advances in brain imaging technologies as well as research-based interventions. The book is also a tribute to a new Edmund, J Safra Brain center for the study of learning Disabilities at the University of Haifa-Israel.




Impulsivity and Compulsivity


Book Description

Traditionally, impulsive and compulsive behaviors have been categorized as fundamentally distinct. However, patients often exhibit both of these behaviors. This common comorbidity has sparked renewed interest in the factors contributing to the disorders in which these behaviors are prominent. Impulsivity and Compulsivity applies a provocative spectrum model to this psychopathology. The spectrum model is consistent with a dimensional model for psychopathology and considers the dynamic interaction of biopsychosocial forces in the development of impulsive and compulsive disorders. In this important work on impulsive/compulsive psychopathology, leading researchers and clinicians share their expertise on the phenomenological, biological, psychodynamic, and treatment aspects of these disorders. Differential diagnosis, comorbidity of the impulsive-compulsive spectrum of disorders, and assessment by the seven-factor model of temperament and character are discussed. Chapters are also dedicated to the antianxiety function of impulsivity and compulsivity, defense mechanisms in impulsive disorders versus obsessive-compulsive disorders, and the unique aspects of psychotherapy with impulsive and compulsive patients. Clinical researchers and clinicians will be enlightened by this exceptional work. The information provided is supplemented with clinical vignettes, and the final chapter provides a synthetic summary that offers a unified, dynamic approach to impulsive and compulsive behavior.




Neuroscience of Creativity


Book Description

Experts describe current perspectives and experimental approaches to understanding the neural bases of creativity. This volume offers a comprehensive overview of the latest neuroscientific approaches to the scientific study of creativity. In chapters that progress logically from neurobiological fundamentals to systems neuroscience and neuroimaging, leading scholars describe the latest theoretical, genetic, structural, clinical, functional, and applied research on the neural bases of creativity. The treatment is both broad and in depth, offering a range of neuroscientific perspectives with detailed coverage by experts in each area. The contributors discuss such issues as the heritability of creativity; creativity in patients with brain damage, neurodegenerative conditions, and mental illness; clinical interventions and the relationship between psychopathology and creativity; neuroimaging studies of intelligence and creativity; the neuroscientific basis of creativity-enhancing methodologies; and the information-processing challenges of viewing visual art. Contributors Baptiste Barbot, Mathias Benedek, David Q. Beversdorf, Aaron P. Blaisdell, Margaret A. Boden, Dorret I. Boomsma, Adam S. Bristol, Shelley Carson, Marleen H. M. de Moor, Andreas Fink, Liane Gabora, Dennis Garlick, Elena L. Grigorenko, Richard J. Haier, Rex E. Jung, James C. Kaufman, Helmut Leder, Kenneth J. Leising, Bruce L. Miller, Apara Ranjan, Mark P. Roeling, W. David Stahlman, Mei Tan, Pablo P. L. Tinio, Oshin Vartanian, Indre V. Viskontas, Dahlia W. Zaidel