Form Versus Function: Theory and Models for Neuronal Substrates

Form Versus Function: Theory and Models for Neuronal Substrates
Author: Mihai Alexandru Petrovici
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2016-07-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319395521

This thesis addresses one of the most fundamental challenges for modern science: how can the brain as a network of neurons process information, how can it create and store internal models of our world, and how can it infer conclusions from ambiguous data? The author addresses these questions with the rigorous language of mathematics and theoretical physics, an approach that requires a high degree of abstraction to transfer results of wet lab biology to formal models. The thesis starts with an in-depth description of the state-of-the-art in theoretical neuroscience, which it subsequently uses as a basis to develop several new and original ideas. Throughout the text, the author connects the form and function of neuronal networks. This is done in order to achieve functional performance of biological brains by transferring their form to synthetic electronics substrates, an approach referred to as neuromorphic computing. The obvious aspect that this transfer can never be perfect but necessarily leads to performance differences is substantiated and explored in detail. The author also introduces a novel interpretation of the firing activity of neurons. He proposes a probabilistic interpretation of this activity and shows by means of formal derivations that stochastic neurons can sample from internally stored probability distributions. This is corroborated by the author’s recent findings, which confirm that biological features like the high conductance state of networks enable this mechanism. The author goes on to show that neural sampling can be implemented on synthetic neuromorphic circuits, paving the way for future applications in machine learning and cognitive computing, for example as energy-efficient implementations of deep learning networks. The thesis offers an essential resource for newcomers to the field and an inspiration for scientists working in theoretical neuroscience and the future of computing.

Neural-Network Simulation of Strongly Correlated Quantum Systems

Neural-Network Simulation of Strongly Correlated Quantum Systems
Author: Stefanie Czischek
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2020-08-27
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030527158

Quantum systems with many degrees of freedom are inherently difficult to describe and simulate quantitatively. The space of possible states is, in general, exponentially large in the number of degrees of freedom such as the number of particles it contains. Standard digital high-performance computing is generally too weak to capture all the necessary details, such that alternative quantum simulation devices have been proposed as a solution. Artificial neural networks, with their high non-local connectivity between the neuron degrees of freedom, may soon gain importance in simulating static and dynamical behavior of quantum systems. Particularly promising candidates are neuromorphic realizations based on analog electronic circuits which are being developed to capture, e.g., the functioning of biologically relevant networks. In turn, such neuromorphic systems may be used to measure and control real quantum many-body systems online. This thesis lays an important foundation for the realization of quantum simulations by means of neuromorphic hardware, for using quantum physics as an input to classical neural nets and, in turn, for using network results to be fed back to quantum systems. The necessary foundations on both sides, quantum physics and artificial neural networks, are described, providing a valuable reference for researchers from these different communities who need to understand the foundations of both.

Neuronal Networks in Brain Function, CNS Disorders, and Therapeutics

Neuronal Networks in Brain Function, CNS Disorders, and Therapeutics
Author: Carl Faingold
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 537
Release: 2013-12-26
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0124158641

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

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury
Author: Mark J. Ashley
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 816
Release: 2003-12-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1439858128

Traumatic Brain Injury: Rehabilitative Treatment and Case Management, Second Edition provides therapists, case managers and physicians with information about the longer-term issues faced by this population. Originally titled Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation, this new edition updates the clinical information and broadens the scope of the best-s

Bayesian Brain

Bayesian Brain
Author: Kenji Doya
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 341
Release: 2007
Genre: Bayesian statistical decision theory
ISBN: 026204238X

Experimental and theoretical neuroscientists use Bayesian approaches to analyze the brain mechanisms of perception, decision-making, and motor control.

A New Foundation for Representation in Cognitive and Brain Science

A New Foundation for Representation in Cognitive and Brain Science
Author: Jaime Gómez-Ramirez
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2013-11-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9400777388

The purpose of the book is to advance in the understanding of brain function by defining a general framework for representation based on category theory. The idea is to bring this mathematical formalism into the domain of neural representation of physical spaces, setting the basis for a theory of mental representation, able to relate empirical findings, uniting them into a sound theoretical corpus. The innovative approach presented in the book provides a horizon of interdisciplinary collaboration that aims to set up a common agenda that synthesizes mathematical formalization and empirical procedures in a systemic way. Category theory has been successfully applied to qualitative analysis, mainly in theoretical computer science to deal with programming language semantics. Nevertheless, the potential of category theoretic tools for quantitative analysis of networks has not been tackled so far. Statistical methods to investigate graph structure typically rely on network parameters. Category theory can be seen as an abstraction of graph theory. Thus, new categorical properties can be added into network analysis and graph theoretic constructs can be accordingly extended in more fundamental basis. By generalizing networks using category theory we can address questions and elaborate answers in a more fundamental way without waiving graph theoretic tools. The vital issue is to establish a new framework for quantitative analysis of networks using the theory of categories, in which computational neuroscientists and network theorists may tackle in more efficient ways the dynamics of brain cognitive networks. The intended audience of the book is researchers who wish to explore the validity of mathematical principles in the understanding of cognitive systems. All the actors in cognitive science: philosophers, engineers, neurobiologists, cognitive psychologists, computer scientists etc. are akin to discover along its pages new unforeseen connections through the development of concepts and formal theories described in the book. Practitioners of both pure and applied mathematics e.g., network theorists, will be delighted with the mapping of abstract mathematical concepts in the terra incognita of cognition.

Neurocomputing

Neurocomputing
Author: James A. Anderson
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 762
Release: 1993-08-26
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0262510758

In bringing together seminal articles on the foundations of research, the first volume of Neurocomputing has become an established guide to the background of concepts employed in this burgeoning field. Neurocomputing 2 collects forty-one articles covering network architecture, neurobiological computation, statistics and pattern classification, and problems and applications that suggest important directions for the evolution of neurocomputing.James A. Anderson is Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Linguistic Sciences at Brown University. Andras Pellionisz is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at New York Medical Center and a Senior National Research Council Associate to NASA. Edward Rosenfeld is editor and publisher of the newsletters Intelligence and Medical Intelligence.

Systems Biology of Parkinson's Disease

Systems Biology of Parkinson's Disease
Author: Peter Wellstead
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 187
Release: 2012-05-08
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1461434114

The Systems Biology of Parkinson’s Disease will be underpinned by new measurement techniques. This is particularly true of the pathology of Parkinson's Disease, where recent developments in brain imaging have offered new insights into the morphology of dopaminergic neurons that have profound implications for the special vulnerability and role of this class of neurons.