The Brain from 25,000 Feet

The Brain from 25,000 Feet PDF Author: Mark A. Changizi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401702934
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description
In The Brain from 25,000 Feet, Mark A. Changizi defends a non-reductionist philosophy and applies it to a variety of problems in the brain sciences. Some of the key questions answered are as follows. Why do we see visual illusions, and why are illusions inevitable for any finite-speed vision machine? Why aren't brains universal learning machines, and what does the riddle of induction and its solution have to do with human learning and innateness? The author tackles such questions as why the brain is folded, and why animals have as many limbs as they do, explaining how these relate to principles of network optimality. He describes how most natural language words are vague and then goes on to explain the connection to the ultimate computational limits on machines. There is also a fascinating discussion of how animals accommodate greater behavioral complexity. This book is a must-read for researchers interested in taking a high-level, non-mechanistic approach to answering age-old fundamental questions in the brain sciences.

The Brain from 25,000 Feet

The Brain from 25,000 Feet PDF Author: Mark A. Changizi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401702934
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
In The Brain from 25,000 Feet, Mark A. Changizi defends a non-reductionist philosophy and applies it to a variety of problems in the brain sciences. Some of the key questions answered are as follows. Why do we see visual illusions, and why are illusions inevitable for any finite-speed vision machine? Why aren't brains universal learning machines, and what does the riddle of induction and its solution have to do with human learning and innateness? The author tackles such questions as why the brain is folded, and why animals have as many limbs as they do, explaining how these relate to principles of network optimality. He describes how most natural language words are vague and then goes on to explain the connection to the ultimate computational limits on machines. There is also a fascinating discussion of how animals accommodate greater behavioral complexity. This book is a must-read for researchers interested in taking a high-level, non-mechanistic approach to answering age-old fundamental questions in the brain sciences.

The Vision Revolution

The Vision Revolution PDF Author: Mark Changizi
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
ISBN: 193525121X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
In The Vision Revolution: How the Latest Research Overturns Everything We Thought We Knew About Human Vision, Mark Changizi, prominent neuroscientist and vision expert, addresses four areas of human vision and provides explanations for why we have those particular abilities, complete with a number of full-color illustrations to demonstrate his conclusions and to engage the reader. Written for both the casual reader and the science buff hungry for new information, The Vision Revolution is a resource that dispels commonly believed perceptions about sight and offers answers drawn from the field's most recent research. Changizi focuses on four “why" questions: 1. Why do we see in color? 2. Why do our eyes face forward? 3. Why do we see illusions? 4. Why does reading come so naturally to us? Why Do We See in Color? It was commonly believed that color vision evolved to help our primitive ancestors identify ripe fruit. Changizi says we should look closer to home: ourselves. Human color vision evolved to give us greater insights into the mental states and health of other people. People who can see color changes in skin have an advantage over their color-blind counterparts; they can see when people are blushing with embarrassment, purple-faced with exertion or the reddening of rashes. Changizi's research reveals that the cones in our eyes that allow us to see color are exquisitely designed exactly for seeing color changes in the skin. And it's no coincidence that the primates with color vision are the ones with bare spots on their faces and other body parts; Changizi shows that the development of color vision in higher primates closely parallels the loss of facial hair, culminating in the near hairlessness and highly developed color vision of humans. Why Do Our Eyes Face Forward? Forward-facing eyes set us apart from most mammals, and there is much dispute as to why we have them. While some speculate that we evolved this feature to give us depth perception available through stereo vision, this type of vision only allows us to see short distances, and we already have other mechanisms that help us to estimate distance. Changizi's research shows that with two forward-facing eyes, primates and humans have an x-ray ability. Specifically, we're able to see through the cluttered leaves of the forest environment in which we evolved. This feature helps primates see their targets in a crowded, encroached environment. To see how this works, hold a finger in front of your eyes. You'll find that you're able to look “through" it, at what is beyond your finger. One of the most amazing feats of two forward-facing eyes? Our views aren't blocked by our noses, beaks, etc. Why Do We See Illusions? We evolved to see moving objects, not where they are, but where they are going to be. Without this ability, we couldn't catch a ball because the brain's ability to process visual information isn't fast enough to allow us to put our hands in the right place to intersect for a rapidly approaching baseball. “If our brains simply created a perception of the way the world was at the time light hit the eye, then by the time that perception was elicited—which takes about a tenth of a second for the brain to do—time would have marched on, and the perception would be of the recent past," Changizi explains. Simply put, illusions occur when our brain is tricked into thinking that a stationary two-dimensional picture has an element that is moving. Our brains project the “moving" element into the future and, as a result, we don't see what's on the page, but what our brain thinks will be the case a fraction of a second into the future. Why Does Reading Come So Naturally to Us? We can read faster than we can hear, which is odd, considering that reading is relatively recent,

Dendrites

Dendrites PDF Author: Greg Stuart
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191062472
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 737

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Book Description
Dendrites are complex neuronal structures that receive and integrate synaptic input from other nerve cells. They therefore play a critical role in brain function. Although dendrites were discovered over a century ago, due to the development of powerful new techniques there has been a dramatic resurgence of interest in the properties and function of these beautiful structures. This is the third edition of the first book devoted exclusively to dendrites. It contains a comprehensive survey of the current state of dendritic research across a wide range of topics, from dendritic morphology, evolution, development, and plasticity through to the electrical, biochemical and computational properties of dendrites, and finally to the key role of dendrites in brain disease. The third edition has been thoroughly revised, with the addition of a number of new chapters and comprehensive updates or rewrites of existing chapters by leading experts. "Dendrites" will be of interest to researchers and students in neuroscience and related fields, as well as to anyone interested in how the brain works.

Optic Flow and Beyond

Optic Flow and Beyond PDF Author: L.M. Vaina
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9781402020919
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 542

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Book Description
Optic flow provides all the information necessary to guide a walking human or a mobile robot to its target. Over the past 50 years, a body of research on optic flow spanning the disciplines of neurophysiology, psychophysics, experimental psychology, brain imaging and computational modelling has accumulated. Today, when we survey the field, we find independent lines of research have now converged and many arguments have been resolved; simultaneously the underpinning assumptions of flow theory are being questioned and alternative accounts of the visual guidance of locomotion proposed. At this critical juncture, this volume offers a timely review of what has been learnt and pointers to where the field is going.

Science

Science PDF Author: John Michels (Journalist)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1142

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Book Description
Vols. for 1911-13 contain the Proceedings of the Helminothological Society of Washington, ISSN 0018-0120, 1st-15th meeting.

Understanding and Bridging the Gap between Neuromorphic Computing and Machine Learning

Understanding and Bridging the Gap between Neuromorphic Computing and Machine Learning PDF Author: Lei Deng
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889667421
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description


Diversity in the Neuronal Machine

Diversity in the Neuronal Machine PDF Author: Ivan Soltesz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195177010
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Aims to provide insights into the striking degree of cellular diversity found in the interneuronal microcircuits in the brain's neocortex and hippocampus. This book elaborates on different ideas about interneuronal diversity that rest upon theoretical and experimental results and is useful for neuroscientists.

Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, Volume 1

Encyclopedia of Neuroscience, Volume 1 PDF Author: Larry R. Squire
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0080963935
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 12505

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Book Description
The Encyclopedia of the Neuroscience explores all areas of the discipline in its focused entries on a wide variety of topics in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and other related areas of neuroscience. Each article is written by an expert in that specific domain and peer reviewed by the advisory board before acceptance into the encyclopedia. Each article contains a glossary, introduction, a reference section, and cross-references to other related encyclopedia articles. Written at a level suitable for university undergraduates, the breadth and depth of coverage will appeal beyond undergraduates to professionals and academics in related fields.

The Brain from 25,000 Feet

The Brain from 25,000 Feet PDF Author: Mark A. Changizi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789401702942
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description


Ernsting's Aviation and Space Medicine 5E

Ernsting's Aviation and Space Medicine 5E PDF Author: David Gradwell
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1444179950
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 893

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Book Description
Ernsting's Aviation and Space Medicine applies current understanding in medicine, physiology and the behavioural sciences to the medical challenges and stresses that are faced by both civil and military aircrew, and their passengers, on a daily basis. The fifth edition of this established textbook has been revised and updated by a multi-disciplinar