Correlated neuronal activity and its relationship to coding, dynamics and network architecture


Book Description

Correlated activity in populations of neurons has been observed in many brain regions and plays a central role in cortical coding, attention, and network dynamics. Accurately quantifying neuronal correlations presents several difficulties. For example, despite recent advances in multicellular recording techniques, the number of neurons from which spiking activity can be simultaneously recorded remains orders magnitude smaller than the size of local networks. In addition, there is a lack of consensus on the distribution of pairwise spike cross correlations obtained in extracellular multi-unit recordings. These challenges highlight the need for theoretical and computational approaches to understand how correlations emerge and to decipher their functional role in the brain.




The Primate Visual System


Book Description

The last 20 years of research have been marked by exceptional progress in understanding the organization and functions of the primate visual system. This understanding has been based on the wide application of traditional and newly emerging methods for identifying the functionally significant subdivisions of the system, their interconnections, the




Neuronal Stochastic Variability: Influences on Spiking Dynamics and Network Activity


Book Description

Stochastic fluctuations are intrinsic to and unavoidable at every stage of neural dynamics. For example, ion channels undergo random conformational changes, neurotransmitter release at synapses is discrete and probabilistic, and neural networks are embedded in spontaneous background activity. The mathematical and computational tool sets contributing to our understanding of stochastic neural dynamics have expanded rapidly in recent years. New theories have emerged detailing the dynamics and computational power of the balanced state in recurrent networks. At the cellular level, novel stochastic extensions to the classical Hodgkin-Huxley model have enlarged our understanding of neuronal dynamics and action potential initiation. Analytical methods have been developed that allow for the calculation of the firing statistics of simplified phenomenological integrate-and-fire models, taking into account adaptation currents or temporal correlations of the noise. This Research Topic is focused on identified physiological/internal noise sources and mechanisms. By "internal", we mean variability that is generated by intrinsic biophysical processes. This includes noise at a range of scales, from ion channels to synapses to neurons to networks. The contributions in this Research Topic introduce innovative mathematical analysis and/or computational methods that relate to empirical measures of neural activity and illuminate the functional role of intrinsic noise in the brain.




The Cognitive Neurosciences, fifth edition


Book Description

The fifth edition of a work that defines the field of cognitive neuroscience, with entirely new material that reflects recent advances in the field. Each edition of this classic reference has proved to be a benchmark in the developing field of cognitive neuroscience. The fifth edition of The Cognitive Neurosciences continues to chart new directions in the study of the biological underpinnings of complex cognition—the relationship between the structural and physiological mechanisms of the nervous system and the psychological reality of the mind. It offers entirely new material, reflecting recent advances in the field. Many of the developments in cognitive neuroscience have been shaped by the introduction of novel tools and methodologies, and a new section is devoted to methods that promise to guide the field into the future—from sophisticated models of causality in brain function to the application of network theory to massive data sets. Another new section treats neuroscience and society, considering some of the moral and political quandaries posed by current neuroscientific methods. Other sections describe, among other things, new research that draws on developmental imaging to study the changing structure and function of the brain over the lifespan; progress in establishing increasingly precise models of memory; research that confirms the study of emotion and social cognition as a core area in cognitive neuroscience; and new findings that cast doubt on the so-called neural correlates of consciousness.




Advances in Neural Networks - ISNN 2017


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th International Symposium on Neural Networks, ISNN 2017, held in Sapporo, Hakodate, and Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan, in June 2017. The 135 revised full papers presented in this two-volume set were carefully reviewed and selected from 259 submissions. The papers cover topics like perception, emotion and development, action and motor control, attractor and associative memory, neurodynamics, complex systems, and chaos.




Neural Engineering


Book Description

This third edition overviews the essential contemporary topics of neuroengineering, from basic principles to the state-of-the-art, and is written by leading scholars in the field. The book covers neural bioelectrical measurements and sensors, EEG signal processing, brain-computer interfaces, implantable and transcranial neuromodulation, peripheral neural interfacing, neuroimaging, neural modelling, neural circuits and system identification, retinal bioengineering and prosthetics, and neural tissue engineering. Each chapter is followed by homework questions intended for classroom use. This is an ideal textbook for students at the graduate and advanced undergraduate level as well as academics, biomedical engineers, neuroscientists, neurophysiologists, and industry professionals seeking to learn the latest developments in this emerging field. Advance Praise for Neural Engineering, 3rd Edition: “A comprehensive and timely contribution to the ever growing field of neural engineering. Bin He’s edited volume provides chapters that cover both the fundamentals and state-of-the-art developments by the world’s leading neural engineers." Dr. Paul Sajda, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Radiology, Columbia University “Neural Engineering, edited by Prof. He, is an outstanding book for students entering into this fast evolving field as well as experienced researchers. Its didactic and comprehensive style, with each chapter authored by leading scientific authorities, provides the ultimate reference for the field.” Dr. Dario Farina, Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK "Neural Engineering has come of age. Major advances have made possible prosthesis for the blind, mind control for quadraplegics and direct intervention to control seizures in epilepsy patients. Neural Engineering brings together reviews by leading researchers in this flourishing field. Dr. Terrence Sejnowski, Salk Institute for Biolgical Studies and UC San Diego




The Correlative Brain


Book Description

This monograph is the result of a course given to graduate students and to the faculty of the Dept. of Medical Physics and Biophysics of Nijmegen University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in the fall of 1984 and 1985. The course was intended to put together experi ment, theory, and analysis methods in order to study neural in teraction and coding in the brain. The following pages give a survey of neural interaction and its experimental substrate: cor related neural activity. The basic reason for restricting myself to vertebrate brains was to keep the material concise. As the text developed, however, it became more of a review, than a research monograph, in the attempt to balance theoretical and experimen tal aspects in brain research. Consequently, the book can be read from various points of view: that of requiring an overview of theories and theoretical principles, or an overview of experimental studies in neural interaction and the methods that can be used, or with the conviction that theory and experiment cannot be separat ed. In the latter case the book should be read from beginning to end. A way to read through the theoretical sections and the ex perimental sections of the book is presented in the following flow chart; Theory: /Chap. 2 -Chap. 4 -Chap. 5 ___ ~ Introduction -+ Chap. 1 \, Chap. 10 -+ Chap. 14 Experim~Chap. 3 -Chap. 6 -Chap. 7 -Chap. 8 ~ Chap.







Connectome


Book Description

“Accessible, witty . . . an important new researcher, philosopher and popularizer of brain science . . . on par with cosmology’s Brian Greene and the late Carl Sagan” (The Plain Dealer). One of the Wall Street Journal’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year and a Publishers Weekly “Top Ten in Science” Title Every person is unique, but science has struggled to pinpoint where, precisely, that uniqueness resides. Our genome may determine our eye color and even aspects of our character. But our friendships, failures, and passions also shape who we are. The question is: How? Sebastian Seung is at the forefront of a revolution in neuroscience. He believes that our identity lies not in our genes, but in the connections between our brain cells—our particular wiring. Seung and a dedicated group of researchers are leading the effort to map these connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse. It’s a monumental effort, but if they succeed, they will uncover the basis of personality, identity, intelligence, memory, and perhaps disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. Connectome is a mind-bending adventure story offering a daring scientific and technological vision for understanding what makes us who we are, as individuals and as a species. “This is complicated stuff, and it is a testament to Dr. Seung’s remarkable clarity of exposition that the reader is swept along with his enthusiasm, as he moves from the basics of neuroscience out to the farthest regions of the hypothetical, sketching out a spectacularly illustrated giant map of the universe of man.” —TheNew York Times “An elegant primer on what’s known about how the brain is organized and how it grows, wires its neurons, perceives its environment, modifies or repairs itself, and stores information. Seung is a clear, lively writer who chooses vivid examples.” —TheWashington Post




Structure Correlation


Book Description

This book leaves the conventional view of chemical structures far behind: it demonstrates how a wealth of valuable, but hitherto unused information can be extracted from available structural data. For example, a single structure determination does not reveal much about a reaction pathway, but a sufficiently large number of comparable structures does. Finding the 'right' question is as important as is the intelligent use of crystallographic databases. Contributions by F.H. Allen, T.L. Blundell, I.D. Brown, H.B. Bürgi, J.D. Dunitz, L. Leiserowitz and others, authoritatively discuss the structure correlation method as well as illustrative results in detail, covering such apparently unrelated subjects as * Bond strength relations in soldis * Crystal structure prediction * Reaction pathways of organic molecules * Ligand/receptor interactions and enzyme mechanisms This book will be useful to the academic and industrial reader alike. It offers both fundamental aspects and diverse applications of what will surely become a powerful branch of structural chemistry.