Information Routing, Correspondence Finding, and Object Recognition in the Brain

Covering recent research on cortical signal processing and plasticity, with an emphasis on object recognition, this book focuses on assemblies of neurons and how they can collectively represent information patterns and their dynamic relationships.

At?rstsight,thisbookisaboutfacerecognitioninthebrain.Itsmorelasting value, however,lies in the paradigmatic way in which this particular problem is treated. From the basic ideas that are worked out here in concrete detail, it is a naturaland simple next step to at leastimagine, if not realizein model form, much more generalstructures and processes,thus helping to bridge the still tremendous chasm between mind and brain. It is the purpose of this foreword to point out these generic traits. For centuries, thinking about the brain has been dominated by the most complexmechanisticdevicesofthetime,clockwork,communicatinghydraulic tubesor,today,thecomputer.Thecomputer,takenasincarnationoftheU- versal Turing Machine, can implement any conceivable process, so that also a functional brain can surely be simulated on it, an idea that, beginning in the ?fties of the last century, has been seducing scientists to create art- cial intelligence in the computer. As a result we now have an information technology that displays many functional capabilities formerly regarded as the exclusive domain of the mind. As fascinating as this is, doting on int- ligent machines is systematically diverting our attention awayfrom the true problems of understanding the working of the brain.

Provides understanding of the (Self)Organization of Cortical Networks Recent research on Information Routing, Correspondence Finding, and Object Recognition in the Brain Written by an expert in the field

Contenu
Background and Concepts.- A Correspondence-Based Neural Model for Face Recognition.- Switchyards-Routing Structures in the Brain.- Ontogenesis of Switchyards.- Putting the Pieces Together: Recognition with Switchyards.- Discussion and Outlook.