Augmenting Cognition

by Segev; Idan

• ISBN13: 9781439839935
• ISBN10: 143983993X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-11-21
• Publisher: EFPL Press

Summary

Augmenting Cognition is a rapidly emerging field in neuroscience, concerned with the translation of what is known about cognitive function and dysfunction to engineer approaches to enhance and rehabilitate the brain. Modern medicine has few options to treat those with cognitive deficiencies, and as we learn more about the biology of these conditions, we consider the design of a new class of therapies to restore and augment cognition. This book describes a number of the foundational areas of cognitive enhancement, with chapters devoted to the following subject areas: use of stem cells, savants, post-traumatic stress disorder, deep-brain stimulation, music and dance, virtual reality, role of sleep, longevity, drugs, and the brain-computer interface.

Author Biography

Idan Segev is the David Inez Myers Professor in Computational Neuroscience and former director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation (ICNC) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His research team utilizes computational tools to study how neurons, the elementary microchips of the brain, compute and dynamically adapt to our ever-changing environment. The ultimate goal is to unravel how local fine variations within the cortical network underlie specific computations (e.g., the orientation of a bar in the visual system) and may give rise to certain brain diseases or to a healthy individual brain. Henry Markram is the Project Director of the Blue Brain Project, Director of the Center for Neuroscience Technology and co-Director of EPFLs Brain Mind Institute (BMI). At the BMI, in the Laboratory for Neural Microcircuitry, Markram has continued his work to unravel the blueprint of the neocortical column, building state-of-the-art tools to carry out multi-neuron patch clamp recordings combined with laser and electrical stimulation as well as multi-sits electrical recording, chemical imaging and gene expression. The ultimate aim of his ambitious Blue Brain Project is to simulate the brains of mammals with a high level of biological accuracy and study the steps involved in the emergence or biological intelligence.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The AugCog Era	p. 6
Augmenting Cognition: Methodological Surveys
Sensory Stimulation for Augmenting Perception, Sensorimotor Behavior and Cognition	p. 11
Improvisation for Prefrontal Rehabilitation	p. 41
Direct Brain Computer Interfaces to Restore Cognition	p. 69
Sleep and Memory: in Search of Functionality	p. 83
Augmenting Cognition with Music	p. 103
Interlude: an Extraordinary Story in Cognition
Accessing our "Inner Savant": the little Bain Man within us all	p. 129
Augmenting Cognition: Ethical and Social Aspects
Longevity	p. 151
Pharmaceutical Cognitive Enhancement: Interrogating the Ethics, Addressing the Issues	p. 179
The Future of Deep Brain Stimulation	p. 193
Diagnosis, Prophylaxis, and Treatment after Psychological Trauma: Conceptual and Ethical Issues	p. 207
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