Part I attempts to review the background, basic sources of data, concepts, and methodology to be employed in the study of perceptrons. In Chapter 2, a brief review of the main alternative approaches to the development of brain models is presented. Chapter 3 considers the physiological and psychological criteria for a suitable model, and attempts to evaluate the empirical evidence which is available on several important issues. Chapter 4 contains basic definitions and some of the notation to be used in later sections are presented. Parts II and III are devoted to a summary of the established theoretical results obtained to date. Part II (Chapters 5 through 14) deals with the theory of three-layer series-coupled perceptrons, on which most work has been done to date. Part III (Chapters 15 through 20) deals with the theory of multi-layer and cross-coupled perceptrons. Part IV is concerned with more speculative models and problems for future analysis. Of necessity, the final chapters become increasingly heuristic in character, as the theory of perceptrons is not yet complete, and new possibilities are continually coming to light. (Author).

How is each individual's unique personality formed? What is it about p ersonality that can change, and why is change often so slow? Promising approaches to these perennial questions are suggested by the explosio n of recent research in neuroscience and brain functioning. This timel y volume presents a coherent, empirically based, and clinically useful framework for understanding personality. Jim Grigsby and David Steven s illuminate links between the organization of the brain and the unfol ding of personality, and show how different aspects of personality are mediated by the brain's nonconscious learning and memory systems. Pro viding new insights for clinicians, students, and researchers, this bo ok builds a critical bridge between existing psychological theories of personality and emerging knowledge in clinical neuroscience.

The present collection of papers forms the Proceedings of the First Meeting on Brain Theory, held October 1-4, 1984 at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy. The Meeting was organized with the aim of bringing together brain theorists who are willing to put their own research in the perspective of the general development of neuroscience. Such a meeting was considered necessary since the explosion of experi mental work in neuroscience during the last decades has not been accompanied by an adequate development on the theoretical side. The intensity of the discussions during the Meeting is prob ably reflected best in the report of the organizers, reprinted here following the Preface. During the Meeting it was decided that a workshop of this kind should be repeated at regular intervals of approximately 2 years. The International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste has kindly agreed to act as host for future meetings. The present Meeting was supported by grants from the In ternational Centre for Theoretical Physics and the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, IBM-Germany through the "Stifterverband fur die Deutsche Wissenschaft" and the Max Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics.

Experimental and theoretical approaches to global brain dynamics that draw on the latest research in the field. The consideration of time or dynamics is fundamental for all aspects of mental activity—perception, cognition, and emotion—because the main feature of brain activity is the continuous change of the underlying brain states even in a constant environment. The application of nonlinear dynamics to the study of brain activity began to flourish in the 1990s when combined with empirical observations from modern morphological and physiological observations. This book offers perspectives on brain dynamics that draw on the latest advances in research in the field. It includes contributions from both theoreticians and experimentalists, offering an eclectic treatment of fundamental issues. Topics addressed range from experimental and computational approaches to transient brain dynamics to the free-energy principle as a global brain theory. The book concludes with a short but rigorous guide to modern nonlinear dynamics and their application to neural dynamics.

(Continued) "...Engraved at the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was the famous maxim "Know thyself." Central to enlightened Western culture from ancient times has been the idea that it is wise to understand oneself and one's behavior. Needed not only for clinical application, neural science is required for understanding human behavior, because all behavior is an expression of neural activity. Beyond medicine, in society at large, the problems of crowding, addiction, violence, and war are rooted in the nature of human beings. Any intelligent attempts at solving the enormous problems of human behavior, both individual and collective, must benefit from greater knowledge of neural function. Many of these problems are not yet in the domain of neural science, but progress is rapid and we can hope that neural scientists will soon be able to contribute directly to understanding them." --Eric R. Kandel, James H. Schwartz; excerpted from the Preface, pages xxxiii-xxxiv.