Sherrington's Loom: An Introduction to the Science of Consciousness

McComas, Alan J.

ISBN 10: 0190936541 / ISBN 13: 9780190936549

Published by Oxford University Press, New York, 2020

About this Item

A Solid Clean Book, Tight And Pristine. No Marks Or Inscriptions. Black Hardcovers With Silver Gilt Title On The Spine. The Dj Is Complete Not Clipped, With A Sepia Photo Of Sherrington On The Front. Green Spine With White Title.

Seller Inventory # 908046

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sherrington's Loom: An Introduction to the Science of Consciousness
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, New York
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0190936541
• ISBN 13: 9780190936549
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Like New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Like New

About this title

Synopsis

In Sherrington's Loom, Alan McComas provides a historical account of the research that has led to recognition of key mechanisms underlying consciousness. Evidence is assembled from a rich variety of sources--neurological patients, animal behavior, laboratory studies, and especially brain stimulation and recording in humans and animals. Among the remarkable advances in the field has been the ability to identify nerve cells in the human brain that store memories of specific people, places, and objects. In addition to dealing with the issue of "free will," the book assembles the information into possible working models for sensations, intentions, and actions. McComas concludes by considering the possibility of consciousness in artificially intelligent systems.

About the Author

Alan McComas was born in Western Australia and educated in Britain, gaining degrees in physiology, medicine, and surgery at Durham University. Following postdoctoral studies at University College London and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, he established a muscle and nerve research laboratory at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1971 he was appointed Professor of Medicine and Head of Neurology at McMaster University in Canada, where he has remained ever since. One of the first to record from single units in the human thalamus, Alan McComas has continued an active interest in brain neurophysiology, including the neural basis of migraine. Among other pioneering achievements he is known for having developed electrophysiological methods for estimating the numbers and types of motor nerve cell in the live human spinal cord and brain stem. The author of the 2014 award-winning Galvani's Spark: The Story of the Nerve Impulse (OUP, 2011), Alan McComas has published some 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and other articles.