Gateway to Memory: An Introduction to Neural Network Modeling of the Hippocampus and Learning (Issues in Clinical and Cognitive Neuropsychology) (Bradford Books) - Softcover

Gluck, Mark A. A; Myers, Catherine E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262571528 ISBN 13: 9780262571524

Publisher: MIT Press, 2001

Synopsis

This book is for students and researchers who have a specific interest in learning and memory and want to understand how computational models can be integrated into experimental research on the hippocampus and learning. It emphasizes the function of brain structures as they give rise to behavior, rather than the molecular or neuronal details. It also emphasizes the process of modeling, rather than the mathematical details of the models themselves.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides a tutorial introduction to topics in neuroscience, the psychology of learning and memory, and the theory of neural network models. The second part, the core of the book, reviews computational models of how the hippocampus cooperates with other brain structures―including the entorhinal cortex, basal forebrain, cerebellum, and primary sensory and motor cortices―to support learning and memory in both animals and humans. The book assumes no prior knowledge of computational modeling or mathematics. For those who wish to delve more deeply into the formal details of the models, there are optional "mathboxes" and appendices. The book also includes extensive references and suggestions for further readings.

About this title

From the Publisher:

"If you purchase only one book at the turn of the new milleniumto teach you about the latest computational models of memory andamnesia, let it be Gateway to Memory. Gluck and Myers displaytheir extraordinary ability to simplify difficult concepts so that abroad readership can appreciate the breadth and depth of the rapidadvances in the cognitive neuroscience of memory being made bythe best and brightest of computational modelers." -- Jordan Grafman, Ph.D., Chief, Cognitive Neuroscience Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

"Gateway to Memory is an exciting and badlyneeded text that integrates computational andneurobiological approaches to memory.Authoritative and clearly written, this book willbe valuable for students and researchers alike."

-- Daniel L. Schacter, Professor and Chair of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Searching for Memory

"This book is a very user-friendly introduction to the world of computer models of the brain, with an emphasis on how the hippocampus and associated areas mediate memory. The authors take the time to explain in detail the rationale for making models of the brain, and then use their own work, as well as related neurobiological and computational research, to illustrate the emerging successes of this approach to understanding brain function." -- Howard Eichenbaum, Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology, University Professor and Professor of Psychology, Boston University

"Gateway to Memory is a valuable addition to the introductory texts describing neural network models of learning and memory. The early chapters present abstract models of brain and learning in an intuitively appealing style that is accessible to lay readers as well as advanced students of network modeling. Later chapters, relevant to experts as well as novices, advance cutting-edge ideas and models that are tested closely by experimental results on learning. A particular virtue is the close interchange the authors maintain throughout between predictions of competing models and experimental results from animal and human learning." -- Gordon H. Bower, Department of Psychology, Stanford University

"This delectable book lays out Gluck and Meyers' comprehensive theory of hippocampal function in easily digestible steps. Readers without a computational modeling background will find it accessible and intriguing. Practicing modelers will be inspired." -- David S. Touretzky, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University

About the Author:

Mark A. Gluck is Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Rutgers University-Newark.

Catherine E. Myers is Research Assistant Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University-Newark.

About this edition

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0262571528
• ISBN 13: 9780262571524
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464