Trees of the brain, roots of the mind / Giorgio A. Ascoli.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ascoli, Giorgio A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Neural circuitry.

Neural networks (Neurobiology).

Neural transmission.

Mind and body.

Brain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (247 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : The MIT Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"The human brain is often described as the most complex object in the universe. Tens of billions of nerve cells-tiny tree-like structures--make up a massive network with enormous computational power. In this book, Giorgio Ascoli reveals another aspect of the human brain: the stunning beauty of its cellular form. Doing so, he makes a provocative claim about the mind-brain relationship. If each nerve cell enlarged a thousandfold looks like a tree, then a small region of the nervous system at the same magnified scale resembles a gigantic, fantastic forest. This structural majesty--illustrated throughout the book with extraordinary color images--hides the secrets behind the genesis of our mental states. Ascoli proposes that some of the most intriguing mysteries of the mind can be solved using the basic architectural principles of the brain. After an overview of the scientific and philosophical foundations of his argument, Ascoli links mental states with patterns of electrical activity in nerve cells, presents an emerging minority opinion of how the brain learns from experience, and unveils a radically new hypothesis of the mechanism determining what is learned, what isn't, and why. Finally, considering these notions in the context of the cosmic diversity within and among brains, Ascoli offers a new perspective on the roots of individuality and humanity"--MIT CogNet.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Preface

List of Figures

Part I: Cognitive Philosophy and Neuroscience Basics

1 Reality, the World, the Brain, and the Mind

2 Neuron Trees and Network Forests

3 Transmitting and Processing Information

Part II: Dynamics of the Brain-Mind Relationship

4 Activity Patterns and Mental States

5 Learning from Experience

6 The Capability of Acquiring New Knowledge

Part III: A Bucolic View of the Universe

7 Neurobotanical Gardens

8 Neuron Types

9 Brain Branching and the Universe

Epilogue

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-262-32903-4

OCLC:

907290065