Towards a Theoretical Neuroscience: from Cell Chemistry to Cognition

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.

Reviews of current knowledge in major areas of psychology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry Review of theoretical constraints on brain architecture imposed by natural selection Understanding of memory, attention and complex cognitive phenomena in terms of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry Additional Free Web lecture course based on this book available at www.understandinghighercognition.com. Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Klappentext

An effective theoretical neuroscience must deliver an accurate, comprehensible and intuitively satisfying understanding of higher cognition in terms of anatomy, neuron physiology and neurochemistry. Massive simulations of assemblies of relatively realistic neurons do not necessarily contribute to understanding, because such simulations can be just one more complex system that is not understood in any satisfying way. Collection of extensive data on the connectivity of the brain may also contribute little to understanding in the absence of an effective theoretical framework.

Beginning in the 1980s, some extremely complex electronic systems have been created. Each such system required thousands of man years of design effort and utilises many billions of transistors. These systems are understood by human beings. Although there are minimal direct resemblances between such electronic systems and the brain, the techniques for achieving electronic system understanding can be adapted to create the framework for an effective neuroscience. This book describes how these techniques are applied to understanding the brain. From 1969 to 1999 the author worked on many aspects of the design and manufacturing of complex electronic systems. Since 1982, he has been active in the creation of a theoretical neuroscience framework.

The book covers the following areas:

-The nature of scientific understanding and ways to achieve it
-Key topics in psychology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry
-Theoretical constraints on brain architecture and appearance of those constraints in the human brain
-How the architectural constraints make it possible to map between descriptions of brain activity on different levels of detail
-Understanding of attention, semantic and episodic memory, procedural and working memory in terms of anatomy, neuron physiology and neurochemistry
-Understanding of complex cognitive phenomena including speech, prospective memory, consciousness and self awareness.

Inhalt

The nature of scientific understanding.- Higher Cognition.- Brain Anatomy.- Neuron Physiology.- Intracellular message chains.- Major Anatomical Structures.- Constraints on the physical architecture of the brain.- Appearance of architectural constraints in the brain.- Memory and the organisation of experience.- Attention and working memory.- Understanding complex cognitive phenomena.- Towards a Theoretical Neuroscience.