Biological Neural Networks: the Hierarchical Concept of Brain...

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 273 pages
• Published by: Birkhäuser Boston
• Edition: 1st Edition April 30, 1998
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0817638598
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0817638597
• Book Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Product Description
"Biological Neural Networks" presents a novel conceptual framework for neurobiology achieved by the application of control theory. This new paradigm provides unifying principles for understanding the functional construction of the nervous system. Konstantin Baev argues forcefully that all hierarchical levels of the nervous system are built according to the same functional principles, which are shown to underlie the highest forms of brain function. Each network hierarchy is structurally and functionally organized in such a way that a lower control system in the nervous system becomes the controlled object for a higher one, and each level of control possesses a model of behavior of its controlled object.

The book brings together for the first time the fields of neural networks (with its computational capabilities), control theory (with its hierarchical machinery), and neurobiology (with its plethora of enigmatic physiological functions, such as inborn and acquired automatic behavior). The function of the cerebellum, the limbic system, and the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical loops are analyzed within this new hierarchical framework. Clinical applications include an original explanation of Parkinson's disease and suggested mechanisms of alleviating its symptoms by conducting functional neurosurgical procedures.

Baev writes with an interdisciplinary readership in mind. Neuroscientists, computer specialists and mathematicians, physicists and clinicians devoted to deciphering the way brain works will all find it fascinating and stimulating reading.

Reader Reviews
Karl A. Greene in the foreword asserted that after reading this book, one will never look at neurobiology and the human brain quite the same again, and I fully concur. Baev introduces a modular framework that fuses neurobiology with control theory and opens the portals for artificial intelligence to enter. Unleashing the powers of hierarchical modeling, his monograph presents a thoroughly conceptualized and truly captivating approach to understanding the functioning of the human brain. Two thumbs up, I had to read this book five times to fully understand it, but I enjoyed it every single time.