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The correlative brain. Theory and experiment in neural interaction. (English) Zbl 0742.92007

Studies of Brain Function. 16. Berlin etc.: Springer-Verlag. xi, 307 p., with 81 fig. and 2 color plates (1990).
This book concerns neuronal interaction and coding in the vertebrate brain. Theories of neuronal interaction and the experiments which provide their experimental basis are surveyed. While descriptions of the experiments are not neglected, the degree of concentration on mathematical modeling is far greater than is commonly found in the neurophysiological literature. So-called “boxes” contain reviews of some of the mathematical methods and experimental procedures discussed in the main text. Although the book was written for use in a university course, the boxes are too terse to serve as introductory material.
As suggested by its title, the book is organized to place emphasis upon correlations between the activities of individual neurons. It begins with a survey of single-neuron properties, e.g. spontaneous activity and receptive fields, how these properties are modeled with neural networks, and how they change from the periphery to the cortex. More global neuronal interactions then lead to models for mass action in the nervous system and to the application of larger neural networks. Static and dynamic aspects of neuronal interactions are examined. Mathematical methods of correlation are presented in detail. Observed correlation is discussed in a number of systems. These include the auditory, visual, somatosensory, and motor systems, as well as plasticity, learning, and memory in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and neocortex.
Thus, this monograph serves as an excellent review of many important theoretical and experimental results relating to the interactions of the neurons and neuronal structures which constitute the vertebrate brain.

MSC:

92C20 Neural biology
92-02 Research exposition (monographs, survey articles) pertaining to biology
92B20 Neural networks for/in biological studies, artificial life and related topics
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