Fundamentals of Computational Neuroscience

Only recently that enough knowledge has been gathered to establish computational neuroscience as a scientific discipline in its own right. Given the complexity of the topic, and its increasing importance in progressing our understanding of how the brain works, there has long been a need for an introductory text on this complex topic. This book is one of the first introductory books on this topic. It introduces the theoretical foundations of neuroscience with a focus on the nature of information processing in the brain. This book covers the introduction and motivation of simplified models of neurons that are suitable for exploring information processing in large brain-like networks. Additionally, it introduces several fundamental network architectures and discusses their relevance for information processing in the brain, giving some examples of models of higher-order cognitive functions to demonstrate the advanced insight that can be gained with such studies. An additional feature is the inclusion of simple Matlab programs that can be used to explore many of the mechanisms explained in the book. An accompanying webpage includes programs for download.