Disorder Versus Order in Brain Function

Disorder Versus Order in Brain Function PDF Author: Peter rhem
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9810240082
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Offers a collection of diverse essays by such authors as Diana Smetters, Hermann Haken, and Scott Kelso.

Disorder Versus Order in Brain Function

Disorder Versus Order in Brain Function PDF Author: Peter rhem
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9810240082
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
Offers a collection of diverse essays by such authors as Diana Smetters, Hermann Haken, and Scott Kelso.

Disorder Versus Order in Brain Function

Disorder Versus Order in Brain Function PDF Author: Peter Århem
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814494488
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
The main aim of this book is to raise and clear up the intriguing problems of noise and chaos in the nervous system. What functional role do fluctuations in neural systems play? Are there chaotic processes in the brain? What is the neural code, and how robust is it towards noise? Are there mechanisms that can control noise and chaos? The book provides an introduction to this new and hot field of research, and at the same time brings the reader to the forefront of scientific inquiry. It is intended primarily for biologists involved in theoretical treatment and for physicists with an interest in biology, but the overview character of the articles makes it also well suited for a broader readership. Contents:Disorder versus Order in Brain Function — An Introduction (P Århem et al.)A Primer on Noise and Chaos (C Blomberg)Molecular Background to Neural Fluctuations: An Introduction to Ion Channel Kinetics (P Århem)What Causes Ion Channel Proteins to Open and Close? (L Liebovitch & A Todorov)Noise in Neural Computation (D Smetters)Do Neurons Recognize Patterns or Rates? One Example (F Moss & H Braun)A Physicist's View of Brain Functioning: Coherence, Chaos, Pattern Formation, Noise (H Haken)Fluctuations in the Coordination Dynamics of Brain and Behavior (S Kelso)Brains Create Macroscopic Order from Microscopic Disorder by Neurodynamics in Perception (W Freeman)Some Randomness Benefits a Model of Hippocampal Function (W Levy & X-B Wu)Consciousness, Schemata and Language (R Cotterill) Readership: Graduate students, academics and research scientists in chaos/dynamical systems and neuroscience. Keywords:Determinism;Indeterminism;Stochastic Process;Fluctuations;Noise;Chaos;Neural Code;Neural Network;Neurodynamics;Ion Channel Kinetics

Discovering the Brain

Discovering the Brain PDF Author: National Academy of Sciences
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309045290
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 195

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Book Description
The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

Chaos in Brain Function

Chaos in Brain Function PDF Author: Erol Başar
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642755453
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
The analysis of deterministic chaos is currently an active field in many branches of research. Mathematically all nonlinear dynamical systems with more than two degrees of freedom can generate chaos, becoming unpredictable over a longer time scale. The brain is a nonlinear system par excellence. Accordingly, the concepts of chaotic dynamics have found, in the last five years, an important application in research on compound electrical activity of the brain. The present volume seeks to cover most of the relevant studies in the newly emerging field of chaotic attractors in the brain. This volume is essentially a selection and reorganization of contri butions from the first two volumes in the Springer Series in Brain Dynamics, which were based on conferences held in 1985 and 1987 in Berlin. It also includes (a) a survey of progress in the recording of evoked oscillations of the brain both at the cellular and EEG levels and (b) an agenda for research on chaotic dynamics. Although the first publications pointing out evidence of chaotic behavior of the EEG did not appear until the beginning of 1985, the presence of the pioneering scientists in this field gave the participants at the first conference (volume 1) a strong impulse toward this field. For me, as conference organizer, having been for a long time active in nonlinear EEG research, the integration of this topic was self-evident; however, the enthusiasm of the conference participants was greater than expected.

The Disordered Mind

The Disordered Mind PDF Author: Eric R. Kandel
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374716102
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
A Nobel Prize–winning neuroscientist’s probing investigation of what brain disorders can tell us about human nature Eric R. Kandel, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his foundational research into memory storage in the brain, is one of the pioneers of modern brain science. His work continues to shape our understanding of how learning and memory work and to break down age-old barriers between the sciences and the arts. In his seminal new book, The Disordered Mind, Kandel draws on a lifetime of pathbreaking research and the work of many other leading neuroscientists to take us on an unusual tour of the brain. He confronts one of the most difficult questions we face: How does our mind, our individual sense of self, emerge from the physical matter of the brain? The brain’s 86 billion neurons communicate with one another through very precise connections. But sometimes those connections are disrupted. The brain processes that give rise to our mind can become disordered, resulting in diseases such as autism, depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. While these disruptions bring great suffering, they can also reveal the mysteries of how the brain produces our most fundamental experiences and capabilities—the very nature of what it means to be human. Studies of autism illuminate the neurological foundations of our social instincts; research into depression offers important insights on emotions and the integrity of the self; and paradigm-shifting work on addiction has led to a new understanding of the relationship between pleasure and willpower. By studying disruptions to typical brain functioning and exploring their potential treatments, we will deepen our understanding of thought, feeling, behavior, memory, and creativity. Only then can we grapple with the big question of how billions of neurons generate consciousness itself.

Social and Communication Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Social and Communication Disorders Following Traumatic Brain Injury PDF Author: Skye McDonald
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1136768718
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 584

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Book Description
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can seriously disrupt the social and communication skills that are basic requirements for everyday life. It is the loss of these interpersonal skills that can be the most devastating for people with TBI and their families. Although there are many books that focus upon TBI, none focus on communication and communication skills specifically. This book fills this important gap in the literature and provides information ranging from a broad overview of the nature of pathology following TBI and its effects on cognition and behaviour, through to the latest evidence about ways to assess and treat social and communication disorders. Much has changed in the field of communication disorders and TBI since the first edition of this book was published in 1999. There have been advances in neuroimaging, providing more accurate understanding of how the brain is damaged in TBI and also insights into its repair. There has been a burgeoning interest in social cognition, and advances in how communication is conceptualized, with a particular focus on the role of how context facilitates or impedes communicative ability. Most importantly, much has changed in the arena of rehabilitation. There is now a growing evidence base of treatments aimed at improving communication problems following TBI, new resources for accessing this information and renewed interest in different kinds of methods for demonstrating treatment effects. Bringing together a range of expert international researchers interested in understanding the nature and treatment of TBI this book covers topics from understanding how the brain damage occurs, how it affects social and communication skills and how these problems might be treated. As such it will be of great interest to clinicians, postgraduate and undergraduate students and researchers in neuropsychology, speech and language pathology.

The Brain-behavior Continuum

The Brain-behavior Continuum PDF Author: Jose Luis Perez Velazquez
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 981434060X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
This book is a comprehensive overview of the main current concepts in brain cognitive activities at the global, collective (or network) level, with a focus on transitions between normal neurophysiology and brain pathological states. It provides a unique approach of linking molecular and cellular aspects of normal and pathological brain functioning with their corresponding network, collective and dynamical manifestations that are subsequently extended to behavioural manifestations of healthy and diseased brains. This book introduces a high-level perspective, searching for simplification amongst the structural and functional complexity of nervous systems by consideration of the distributed interactions that underlie the collective behaviour of the system. The authors hope that this approach could promote a global comprehensive understanding of high-level laws behind the elementary biological processes in the neuroscientific community, while, perhaps, introducing elements of biological complexities to the mathematical/computational readership. The title of the book refers to the main point of the monograph: that there is a smooth continuum between distinct brain activities resulting in different behaviours, and that, due to the plastic nature of the brain, the behaviour can also alter the brain function, thus rendering artificial the boundaries between the brain and its behaviour.

Augmentation of Brain Function: Facts, Fiction and Controversy

Augmentation of Brain Function: Facts, Fiction and Controversy PDF Author: Mikhail Lebedev
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889456145
Category : Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Languages : en
Pages : 666

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Book Description
Volume I, entitled “Augmentation of Brain Functions: Brain-Machine Interfaces”, is a collection of articles on neuroprosthetic technologies that utilize brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). BMIs strive to augment the brain by linking neural activity, recorded invasively or noninvasively, to external devices, such as arm prostheses, exoskeletons that enable bipedal walking, means of communication and technologies that augment attention. In addition to many practical applications, BMIs provide useful research tools for basic science. Several articles cover challenges and controversies in this rapidly developing field, such as ways to improve information transfer rate. BMIs can be applied to the awake state of the brain and to the sleep state, as well. BMIs can augment action planning and decision making. Importantly, BMI operations evoke brain plasticity, which can have long-lasting effects. Advanced neural decoding algorithms that utilize optimal feedback controllers are key to the BMI performance. BMI approach can be combined with the other augmentation methods; such systems are called hybrid BMIs. Overall, it appears that BMI will lead to many powerful and practical brain-augmenting technologies in the future.

Neuronal Networks in Brain Function, CNS Disorders, and Therapeutics

Neuronal Networks in Brain Function, CNS Disorders, and Therapeutics PDF Author: Carl Faingold
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0124158641
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
Neuronal Networks in Brain Function, CNS Disorders, and Therapeutics, edited by two leaders in the field, offers a current and complete review of what we know about neural networks. How the brain accomplishes many of its more complex tasks can only be understood via study of neuronal network control and network interactions. Large networks can undergo major functional changes, resulting in substantially different brain function and affecting everything from learning to the potential for epilepsy. With chapters authored by experts in each topic, this book advances the understanding of: How the brain carries out important tasks via networks How these networks interact in normal brain function Major mechanisms that control network function The interaction of the normal networks to produce more complex behaviors How brain disorders can result from abnormal interactions How therapy of disorders can be advanced through this network approach This book will benefit neuroscience researchers and graduate students with an interest in networks, as well as clinicians in neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychiatry dealing with neurobiological disorders. Utilizes perspectives and tools from various neuroscience subdisciplines (cellular, systems, physiologic), making the volume broadly relevant Chapters explore normal network function and control mechanisms, with an eye to improving therapies for brain disorders Reflects predominant disciplinary shift from an anatomical to a functional perspective of the brain Edited work with chapters authored by leaders in the field around the globe – the broadest, most expert coverage available

Clinical Neuropsychology and the Psychological Care of Persons with Brain Disorders

Clinical Neuropsychology and the Psychological Care of Persons with Brain Disorders PDF Author: George P. Prigatano
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190645954
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
The administration of psychological care to persons with brain disorders requires a series of skills that integrate the knowledge of clinical neuropsychology with developmental psychology, psychotherapy, rehabilitation, and the study of the humanities. In Clinical Neuropsychology and the Psychological Care of Persons with Brain Disorders, Dr. Prigatano describes his approach to this complex topic. He reviews some of the defining characteristics of human nature, and blends that discussion with an understanding of how the brain normally develops and declines with age. The psychological struggles of people at each stage of development are further described as different brain disorders occur at different times in development.