| Brain Computation as Hierarchical Abstraction Contributor(s): Ballard, Dana H. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0262534126 ISBN-13: 9780262534123 Publisher: MIT Press OUR PRICE: $59.40 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2015 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Life Sciences - Neuroscience - Computers | Data Modeling & Design - Medical | Neuroscience |
| Dewey: 612.823 |
| Series: Computational Neuroscience |
| Physical Information: 1.24" H x 6" W x 9" (1.81 lbs) 456 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: An argument that the complexities of brain function can be understood hierarchically, in terms of different levels of abstraction, as silicon computing is. The vast differences between the brain's neural circuitry and a computer's silicon circuitry might suggest that they have nothing in common. In fact, as Dana Ballard argues in this book, computational tools are essential for understanding brain function. Ballard shows that the hierarchical organization of the brain has many parallels with the hierarchical organization of computing; as in silicon computing, the complexities of brain computation can be dramatically simplified when its computation is factored into different levels of abstraction. Drawing on several decades of progress in computational neuroscience, together with recent results in Bayesian and reinforcement learning methodologies, Ballard factors the brain's principal computational issues in terms of their natural place in an overall hierarchy. Each of these factors leads to a fresh perspective. A neural level focuses on the basic forebrain functions and shows how processing demands dictate the extensive use of timing-based circuitry and an overall organization of tabular memories. An embodiment level organization works in reverse, making extensive use of multiplexing and on-demand processing to achieve fast parallel computation. An awareness level focuses on the brain's representations of emotion, attention and consciousness, showing that they can operate with great economy in the context of the neural and embodiment substrates. |
Contributor Bio(s): Ballard, Dana H.: - Dana H. Ballard is Professor in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, where he has appointments in Psychology, the Institute for Neuroscience, and the Center for Perceptual Systems. He is the author of An Introduction to Natural Computation (MIT Press).Sejnowski, Terrence J.: - Terrence J. Sejnowski holds the Francis Crick Chair at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Diego. He was a member of the advisory committee for the Obama administration's BRAIN initiative and is President of the Neural Information Processing (NIPS) Foundation. He has published twelve books, including (with Patricia Churchland) The Computational Brain (25th Anniversary Edition, MIT Press).Poggio, Tomaso A.: - Tomaso A. Poggio is Eugene McDermott Professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, where he is also Director of the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines and Codirector of the Center for Biological and Computational Learning. He is coeditor of Perceptual Learning (MIT Press). |