23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience

by van Hemmen, J. Leo; Sejnowski, Terrence J.

• ISBN13: 9780195148220
• ISBN10: 0195148223
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The complexity of the brain and the protean nature of behavior remain the most elusive area of science, but also the most important. van Hemmen and Sejnowski invited 23 experts from the many areas--from evolution to qualia--of systems neuroscience to formulate one problem each. Although eachchapter was written independently and can be read separately, together they provide a useful roadmap to the field of systems neuroscience and will serve as a source of inspirations for future explorers of the brain.

Table of Contents

Contributors	xiii
PART I How Have Brains Evolved?
Shall We Even Understand the Fly's Brain?	3	(19)
Gilles Laurent
Can We Understand the Action of Brains in Natural Environments?	22	(22)
Hermann Wagner
Bernhard Gaese
Hemisphere Dominance of Brain Function---Which Functions Are Lateralized and Why?	44	(21)
Gunter Ehret
PART II How Is the Cerebral Cortex Organized?
What Is the Function of the Thalamus?	65	(18)
S. Murray Sherman
What Is a Neuronal Map, How Does It Arise, and What Is It Good For?	83	(20)
J. Leo van Hemmen
What Is Fed Back?	103	(32)
Jean Bullier
PART III How Do Neurons Interact?
How Can the Brain Be So Fast?	135	(8)
Wulfram Gerstner
What Is the Neural Code?	143	(17)
C. van Vreeswijk
Are Single Cortical Neurons Soloists or Are They Obedient Members of a Huge Orchestra?	160	(22)
Tal Kenet
Amos Arieli
Misha Tsodyks
Amiram Grinvald
What Is the Other 85 Percent of V1 Doing?	182	(33)
Bruno A. Olshausen
David J. Field
PART IV What Can Brains Compute?
Which Computation Runs in Visual Cortical Columns?	215	(30)
Steven W. Zucker
Are Neurons Adapted for Specific Computations? Examples from Temporal Coding in the Auditory System	245	(21)
C. E. Carr
S. Iyer
D. Soares
S. Kalluri
J. Z. Simon
How Is Time Represented in the Brain?	266	(17)
Andreas V. M. Herz
How General Are Neural Codes in Sensory Systems?	283	(20)
David McAlpine
Alan R. Palmer
How Does the Hearing System Perform Auditory Scene Analysis?	303	(19)
Georg M. Klump
How Does Our Visual System Achieve Shift and Size Invariance?	322	(21)
Laurenz Wiskott
PART V Organization of Cognitive Systems
What Is Reflected in Sensory Neocortical Activity: External Stimuli or What the Cortex Does with Them?	343	(24)
Henning Scheich
Frank W. Ohl
Holger Schulze
Andreas Hess
Andre Brechmann
Do Perception and Action Result from Different Brain Circuits? The Three Visual Systems Hypothesis	367	(27)
Giacomo Rizzolatti
Vittorio Gallese
What Are the Projective Fields of Cortical Neurons?	394	(12)
Terrence J. Sejnowski
How Are the Features of Objects Integrated into Perceptual Wholes That Are Selected by Attention?	406	(17)
John H. Reynolds
Where Are the Switches on This Thing?	423	(9)
L. F. Abbott
Synesthesia: What Does It Tell Us about the Emergence of Qualia, Metaphor, Abstract Thought, and Language?	432	(42)
V. S. Ramachandran
Edward M. Hubbard
What Are the Neuronal Correlates of Consciousness?	474	(17)
Francis C. Crick
Christof Koch
Author Index	491	(14)
Subject Index	505