Understanding how the brain works is probably the greatest scientific and intellectual challenge of our generation. The cerebral cortex is the instrument by which we carry the most complex mental functions. Fortunately, there exists an immense body of knowledge concerning both cortical structure and the properties of single neurons in the cortex. With the advent of the supercomputer, there has been increased interest in neural network modeling. What is needed is a new approach to an understanding of the mammalian cerebral cortex that will provide a link between the physiological description and the computer model. This book meets that need by combining anatomy, physiology, and modeling to achieve a quantitative description of cortical function. The material is presented didactically, starting with descriptive anatomy and comprehensively examining all aspects of modeling. The book gradually leads the reader from the macroscopic cortical anatomy and standard electrophysiological properties of single neurons to neural network models and synfire chains. The most modern trends in neural network modeling are explored.

Neural network models, in addition to being of intrinsic theoretical interest, have also proved to be a useful framework in which issues in theoretical biology can be put into perspective. These issues include, amongst others, modelling the activity of the cortex and the study of protein folding. More recently, neural network models have been extensively investigated as tools for data analysis in high energy physics experiments. These workshop proceedings reflect the strongly interdisciplinary character of the field and provide an updated overview of recent developments.

First multi-year cumulation covers six years: 1965-70.

This issue of Neuroimaging Clinics of North America focuses on Imaging of Tinnitus. Articles will include: Neuroscience of Tinnitus; Clinical Evaluation of the Patient with Tinnitus; Arterial Abnormalities Leading to Tinnitus; Paragangliomas and Other Vascular Skull Base Tumors; Dural AV Fistulae: Imaging and Management; Venous Abnormalities Leading to Tinnitus: Imaging Evaluation; Endovascular Intervention in Venous Tinnitus: New Horizons and Future Directions; Emerging Role of Surgical Treatments in the Treatment of Tinnitus; Role of Advanced Neuroimaging and Future Directions; Imaging Interpretation of Temporal Bone Studies in a Patient with Tinnitus: A Systematic Approach; and much more!

Leading neuroscientists discuss the function of microcircuits, functional modules that act as elementary processing units bridging single cells to systems and behavior. Microcircuits, functional modules that act as elementary processing units bridging single cells to systems and behavior, could provide the link between neurons and global brain function. Microcircuits are designed to serve particular functions; examples of these functional modules include the cortical columns in sensory cortici, glomeruli in the olfactory systems of insects and vertebrates, and networks generating different aspects of motor behavior. In this Dahlem Workshop volume, leading neuroscientists discuss how microcircuits work to bridge the single cell and systems levels and compare the intrinsic function of microcircuits with their ion channel subtypes, connectivity, and receptors, in order to understand the design principles and function of the microcircuits. The chapters cover the four major areas of microcircuit research: motor systems, including locomotion, respiration, and the saccadic eye movements; the striatum, the largest input station of the basal ganglia; olfactory systems and the neural organization of the glomeruli; and the neocortex. Each chapter is followed by a group report, a collaborative discussion among senior scientists. Contributors Lidia Alonso-Nanclares, Hagai Bergman, Maria Blatow, J. Paul Bolam, Ansgar Büschges, Antonio Caputi, Jean-Pierre Changeux, Javier DeFelipe, Carsten Duch, Paul Feinstein, Stuart Firestein, Yves Frégnac, Rainer W. Friedrich, C. Giovanni Galizia, Ann M. Graybiel, Charles A. Greer, Sten Grillner, Tadashi Isa, Ole Kiehn, Minoru Kimura, Anders Lanser, Gilles Laurent, Pierre-Marie Lledo, Wolfgang Maass, Henry Markram, David A. McCormick, Christoph M. Michel, Peter Mombaerts, Hannah Monyer, Hans-Joachim Pflüger, Dietmar Plenz, Diethelm W. Richter, Silke Sachse, H. Sebastian Seung, Keith T. Sillar, Jeffrey C. Smith, David L. Sparks, D. James Surmeier, Eörs Szathmáry, James M. Tepper, Jeff R. Wickens, Rafael Yuste