Description
Book SynopsisThe Cooperative Neuron is part of a revolution that is occurring in the sciences of brain and mind. It explores the new field of cellular psychology, a field built upon the recent discovery that many neurons in the brain cooperate to seek agreement in deciding what''s relevant in the current context. This cooperative context-sensitivity provides the cellular foundations for knowledge, doubt, imagination, self-development, and the search for purpose in life. This emerging field has far-reaching and fundamental implications for psychology, neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and the philosophy of mind.In a clear and accessible style, the book explains the neuroscience to psychologists, the psychology to neuroscientists, and both to philosophers, students of the behavioral and brain sciences, and to anyone intrigued by the enduring mystery of how brains can be minds.
Trade ReviewA remarkable condensation of a lifetime of cutting-edge neuroscience research. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in how neurons make brains and brains make minds - in sickness and in health! * David Nutt, Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology, Imperial College London, and author of many papers and several books on the effects of drugs on mind and brain and their implications for social policy. *
"a monumental job... this is a breakthrough book... Future explanations of cortical function will have to realize that connectionist models must incorporate the complex properties of neuronal dendrites which are described so clearly." * Gordon M. Shepherd, Department of Neuroscience, Yale. *
"a magnum opus... I found myself amazed at what I was learning... it gives me a new way of thinking about working memory." * Graham Hitch, Psychology, University of York, co-founder of working memory research. *
"This book is a revelation, showing how behaviour and consciousness emerge from interactions of many apparently simple units in the brain. It will be of great interest to psychologists. I will be re-reading it several times." * Trevor Harley, University of Dundee, author of core psychology texts, including The Science of Consciousness. *
"This book provides a new understanding of how neurons coordinate their activity to generate consciousness, cognition, and effective behavior, with fundamental implications for psychopathologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists." * Steven Silverstein, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Rochester. *
"This ground-breaking book explores crucial mechanisms that enable us process information in ways sensitive to context. A tour de force that spans cellular foundations and systems-level neuroscience, reaching all the way to conceptual issues concerning consciousness, emotion, language, and more. " * Andy Clark, FBA, FRSE. Professor of Cognitive Philosophy, University of Sussex. Author of Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind *
Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Life, Brain, and Mind: Marvels of Cooperation Between Diverse Individuals 3: Cerebral Neocortex: Hierarchies of Abstraction in Physical Matter That Knows and Doubts, Thinks and Feels, Intends, and Hopes 4: Neocortical Pyramidal Cells That Cooperate by Being Sensitive to Context 5: Cooperative Neurons in Various States of Mind and Brain 6: What Cooperative Neurons Do for Mental Life 7: Evolution and Development of Cooperative Neurons 8: Pathologies of Cooperative Neuronal Processing 9: An Information-Theoretic View of Context-Sensitivity 10: Difficulties and Unresolved Issues 11: Mind's Place in Nature
