"This chapter explains why this book is organized as it is. Each neocortical area has a unique pattern of inputs and outputs. This means that the challenge is to understand the transformation that each of the prefrontal areas performs from input to output. Functional brain imaging allows us to visualize the human brain at work, but it does not have the spatial resolution to identify the mechanisms that support the transformations that the brain performs. It is neurophysiological recordings from cells that tell us how these are achieved. Chapters 3-8 are therefore mainly devoted to studies that have been carried out on the prefrontal cortex of macaque monkeys because the methods are necessarily invasive. Apart from recording, the methods include making selective lesions in an area; it is these that identify the contribution that is unique to that area. The book ends by reviewing the evolution of the human prefrontal cortex; and the final two chapters discuss the ways in which the human prefrontal cortex is specialized in terms of function. In doing so, they attempt to account for the intellectual gap between humans and other primates"--

The prefrontal cortex makes up almost a quarter of the human brain, and it expanded dramatically during primate evolution. The Neurobiology of the Prefrontal Cortex presents a new theory about its fundamental function. In this important new book, the authors argue that primate-specific parts of the prefrontal cortex evolved to reduce errors in foraging choices, so that particular ancestors of modern humans could overcome periodic food shortages. These developments laid the foundation for working out problems in our imagination, which resulted in the insights that allow humans to avoid errors entirely, at least at times. In the book, the authors detail which parts of the prefrontal cortex evolved exclusively in primates, how its connections explain why the prefrontal cortex alone can perform its function, and why other parts of the brain cannot do what the prefrontal cortex does. Based on an analysis of its evolutionary history, the book uses evidence from lesion, imaging, and cell-recording experiments to argue that the primate prefrontal cortex generates goals from a current behavioural context and that it can do so on the basis of single events. As a result, the prefrontal cortex uses the attentive control of behaviour to augment an older general-purpose learning system, one that evolved very early in the history of animals. This older system learns slowly and cumulatively over many experiences based on reinforcement. The authors argue that a new learning system evolved in primates at a particular time and place in their history, that it did so to decrease the errors inherent in the older learning system, and that severe volatility of food resources provided the driving force for these developments. Written by two leading brain scientists, The Neurobiology of the Prefrontal Cortex is an important contribution to our understanding of the evolution and functioning of the human brain.

The brain ... There is no other part of the human anatomy that is so intriguing. How does it develop and function and why does it sometimes, tragically, degenerate? The answers are complex. In Discovering the Brain, science writer Sandra Ackerman cuts through the complexity to bring this vital topic to the public. The 1990s were declared the "Decade of the Brain" by former President Bush, and the neuroscience community responded with a host of new investigations and conferences. Discovering the Brain is based on the Institute of Medicine conference, Decade of the Brain: Frontiers in Neuroscience and Brain Research. Discovering the Brain is a "field guide" to the brainâ€"an easy-to-read discussion of the brain's physical structure and where functions such as language and music appreciation lie. Ackerman examines: How electrical and chemical signals are conveyed in the brain. The mechanisms by which we see, hear, think, and pay attentionâ€"and how a "gut feeling" actually originates in the brain. Learning and memory retention, including parallels to computer memory and what they might tell us about our own mental capacity. Development of the brain throughout the life span, with a look at the aging brain. Ackerman provides an enlightening chapter on the connection between the brain's physical condition and various mental disorders and notes what progress can realistically be made toward the prevention and treatment of stroke and other ailments. Finally, she explores the potential for major advances during the "Decade of the Brain," with a look at medical imaging techniquesâ€"what various technologies can and cannot tell usâ€"and how the public and private sectors can contribute to continued advances in neuroscience. This highly readable volume will provide the public and policymakersâ€"and many scientists as wellâ€"with a helpful guide to understanding the many discoveries that are sure to be announced throughout the "Decade of the Brain."

This volume provides a comprehensive review of historical and current research on the function of the frontal lobes and frontal systems of the brain. The content spans frontal lobe functions from birth to old age, from biochemistry and anatomy to rehabilitation, and from normal to disrupted function. The book is intended to be a standard reference work on the frontal lobes for researchers, clinicians, and students in the field of neurology, neuroscience, psychiatry, psychology, and health care.

The first comprehensive treatment of active inference, an integrative perspective on brain, cognition, and behavior used across multiple disciplines. Active inference is a way of understanding sentient behavior—a theory that characterizes perception, planning, and action in terms of probabilistic inference. Developed by theoretical neuroscientist Karl Friston over years of groundbreaking research, active inference provides an integrated perspective on brain, cognition, and behavior that is increasingly used across multiple disciplines including neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. Active inference puts the action into perception. This book offers the first comprehensive treatment of active inference, covering theory, applications, and cognitive domains. Active inference is a “first principles” approach to understanding behavior and the brain, framed in terms of a single imperative to minimize free energy. The book emphasizes the implications of the free energy principle for understanding how the brain works. It first introduces active inference both conceptually and formally, contextualizing it within current theories of cognition. It then provides specific examples of computational models that use active inference to explain such cognitive phenomena as perception, attention, memory, and planning.

The prefrontal cortex reaches its greatest development in the human brain, making up nearly one third of the neocortex. Due to its remarkable evolution, the prefrontal cortex plays an important role in higher integrative functions such as information processing, thinking, understanding, attention, behavior, motivation, emotions, working memory, and analysis. This book brings together theoretical and technical research advances on the prefrontal cortex, from the basic explanations of the neuronal architecture of the prefrontal cortex and its anatomy, presenting it as a morphological substrate for many psychological conditions, through normal and altered connectivity and its manifestation in different behavior and identification of organizational levels inside the prefrontal cortex through different neuroimaging methods. It also provides an interdisciplinary view of the prefrontal cortex and its issues and discovers the main role of this part of brain in psychosocial, economic, and cultural adaptation.