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This book is the result of extensive archival research conducted on the Collection “Silvano Arieti Papers” held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. It offers readers the first scientific biography of the renowned Italian-born psychiatrist Silvano Arieti, who in 1939 emigrated to the United States, where he gained fame and recognition for his work on schizophrenia. In 1975, the second edition of his book, Interpretation of Schizophrenia, received the National Book Award in Science. The book has been cast as a twofold journey: an exploration of the life of a psychiatrist and scientist and an overview of twentieth century psychiatry and its significant issues, debates, and transformations. Readers will find useful insights for a better understanding of psychiatry as a discipline capable of portraying the complexity of human nature.

How to Build a Human Brain takes a developmental approach to understanding brain structure and function. It guides readers through the evolution of the human brain, from its cellular building blocks, up to hind brain structures and functions, and through to neocortex and associated functions. In doing so, it enables students to develop a comprehensive knowledge of the relationship between brain networks and functions, neural underpinnings of functional problems seen after neuropathology, and neuroanatomy.Written in an engaging style, each chapter follows a blueprint format with subsections on issues like'damage and repair'and'faulty wiring'as the brain is ‘built'across the course of the book. The author includes illustrative case studies and entertaining fast fact boxes to highlight the real-word relevance of each brain structure being examined. This textbook offers an accessible reference for students of neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychology,and biological psychology.

This important new book presents an introduction to Environmental Neuroscience, an emerging field devoted to the study of brain-mediated bidirectional relationships between organisms and their physical environments. Environmental Neuroscience offers a novel perspective in the human neurosciences, which have typically focused on the individual isolated from its natural habitat. The book presents the theoretical background of the field, discusses how the environment impacts humans and how humans impact the environment, explores the neuroscience of the built environment, and addresses special populations and presents different methodological approaches. Environmental Neuroscience bringing together the top authorities in the field, will appeal to neuroscientists and to a range of scholars from public health, urban studies, human geography, and architecture who are searching for guidance on what characterizes a health-promoting environment.

This book tackles the question of why the brain is so difficult to fully understand. In neuroscience, data are acquired and analyzed with astonishing techniques and accumulate rapidly. Nevertheless, try to explain how a person can think or why there is such a condition as schizophrenia, and it appears that we really know little. To approach these difficulties, the authors first present a number of case studies in which the operation of a neural circuit is worked out in some detail and, at the same time, the functional significance of the operation is also understood. These examples are complicated in their biologic specifics but are conceptually straightforward. The examples are hoped to provoke an appreciation for what neuroscience can accomplish. The authors then develop some thoughts on how these issues can be addressed----instead of considering cognition in general, taking instead a subset of cognition that does lend itself to formal description.

What sets humans apart from other animals? Perhaps more than anything else, it is the capacity for innovation. The accumulation of discoveries throughout history, big and small, has enabled us to build global civilizations and gain power to shape our environment. But what makes humans as a species so innovative?Min W. Jung offers a new understanding of the neural basis of innovation in terms of humans'exceptional capacity for imagination and high-level abstraction. He provides an engaging account of recent advances in neuroscience that have shed light on the neural underpinnings of these profoundly important abilities. Jung examines key discoveries concerning the hippocampus and neural circuits that have demystified the processes underlying imagination and abstract thinking. He also considers how these capacities might have evolved as well as possible futures for intelligence.Bringing together disparate findings in neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and artificial intelligence, A Brain for Innovation develops a unified perspective on the mechanisms of imagination, abstract thought, and creativity. Presenting cutting-edge neuroscientific research in a way that is accessible to readers without a background in the subject, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the biological basis of one of the most fundamental aspects of human nature.

How can we teach machine learning to identify causal patterns in data? This book explores the very notion of “causality”, identifying from a naturalistic and evolutionary perspective how living systems deal with causal relationships. At the same time, using this knowledge to identify the best ways to apply such biological models in machine learning scenarios. One of the more fundamental challenges for AI experts is to design machines that can understand the world, identifying the basic rules that govern reality. Statistics are powerful and fundamental for this process, but they are only one of the necessary tools. Counterfactual thinking is the other part of the necessary process that will help machines to become intelligent. This book explains the paths that can lead to algorithmic causality. It is essential reading for those who are not afraid of thinking at the interface of various academic disciplines or fields (AI, machine learning, philosophy, neuroscience, anthropology, psychology, computer sciences), and who are interested in the analysis of causal thinking and the ways in which cognitive systems (natural or artificial) can act in order to understand their environment. Professor Vallverdú is currently working on biomimetic cognitive architectures and multicognitive systems. His research has explored two main areas: epistemology and cognition. Since his early Ph.D. research on epistemic controversies, he has analyzed several aspects of computational epistemology. His latest research has focused on the causal challenges of machine learning techniques, particularly deep learning. One of his most promising advances is statistics meets causal graph reasoning (via Directed Acyclic Graphs), which still has several conceptual paths that need to be explored and identified. Counterfactual reasoning is a fundamental part of these open debates, which are under the analysis of Prof. Vallverdú. His current research is supported as part of the following projects: GEHUCT and ICREA Acadèmia.

Dieses Buch untersucht die besten verfügbaren empirischen Beweise für eine der schwierigsten und allgegenwärtigsten Fragen in allen Zeitaltern, Kulturen und Religionen: das Überleben des menschlichen Bewusstseins nach dem Tod. Es beginnt mit einem kontextuellen Überblick über den Glauben an ein persönliches Überleben und widerlegt fehlgeleitete historische und erkenntnistheoretische Argumente gegen die Vorstellung eines Überlebens nach dem Tod (z. B. irrational, rein religiös, wissenschaftlich unmöglich, von der Neurowissenschaft als falsch erwiesen). Das Buch gibt einen Überblick über die wissenschaftlichen Beweise für das Fortleben des menschlichen Bewusstseins nach dem Tod und konzentriert sich dabei auf Studien über Medialität, Nahtoderfahrungen, außerkörperliche Erfahrungen und Reinkarnation.Zu den behandelten Themen gehören:Der Glaube an ein Leben nach dem Tod in der heutigen Welt sowie in der Geschichte der Religionen und der Philosophie.Die wichtigsten fehlgeleiteten Argumente und Vorurteile gegen die wissenschaftliche Erforschung des Überlebens nach dem Tod.Was sind empirische Beweise für ein Überleben nach dem Tod?Die wichtigsten alternativen Erklärungshypothesen für das Überleben nach dem Tod.Die wichtigsten kulturellen Hindernisse für eine faire Untersuchung der verfügbaren Beweise für das Weiterleben des Bewusstseins nach dem Tod.Science of Life After Death ist ein unverzichtbares Hilfsmittel für Forscher, Professoren und Doktoranden sowie für Kliniker, Therapeuten und andere Fachleute in den Bereichen Entwicklungs- und klinische Psychologie, Spiritualität, Religions- und Bewusstseinsforschung, Psychiatrie, Neurowissenschaft/Neurologie, Phänomenologie/Philosophie, Komplementär- und Alternativmedizin und allen damit verbundenen Disziplinen.

This book—Mind, Body, and Digital Brains—focuses on both theoretical and empirical issues and joins contributions from different disciplines, concepts, and sensibilities, bringing together scholars from fields that at first glance may appear different—Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience; Robotics, Computer Science, Deep Learning, and Information Processing Systems; Education, Philosophy, Law, and Psychology. All these research fields are held together by the very object to be discussed: a broad, articulate, and polyphonic reflection on the status of theories and fields of application of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, seen from the perspective of the digital mind, digital body, and digital brain. Scientific and humanistic issues will be considered through an interdisciplinary point of view, with the purpose of deepening emerging trends about various disciplines. This book offers a framework for different perspectives and, at the same time, a platform for discussion aimed not only at experts, but also at a non-specialist public interested in the digital revolution. The digital revolution is emerging from the intertwining of ethical, philosophical, and technological aspects, which concern several general issues as cooperation, law, and environment, but also specialized as cybersecurity or algorithmic citizenship. More questions arise, concerning which opportunities and risks are associated with the new scenarios, what idea of humanity is emerging from the increasingly widespread use of Artificial Intelligence technologies, and what idea of integrated science should we promote to accompany the ongoing transformations.

Despite the critical importance of the cerebellum in brain function, the scientific community still lacks effective treatments for most cerebellar ataxias. This book provides a link between the pathogenesis and therapies of cerebellar ataxias while also providing a comprehensive assessment of the preclinical and clinical trials dedicated to cerebellar ataxias over the past 20 years of progress. This is the first book fully dedicated to the trials and therapies of these disorders. It is a truly authoritative and comprehensive reference, and comes at a time of major advances in genetic tools and neuroimaging assessments. The coverage begins by laying a foundation of the basic science of the cerebellum and ataxias, proceeds to discuss biomarkers and the tools of trials, offers guidelines on conducting trials, and then explores the full range of therapeutics and their trials, including gene therapy and cell transplantation. The authors are top experts on cerebellar research and the contributing authors have all made seminal contributions in the field.

This book includes selected peer reviewed articles from The 5th International Conference on Communications and Cyber-Physical Engineering (ICCCE 2022), held on 29th and 30th April 2022 in Hyderabad, India. Articles presented here relate to next generation cognitive systems, neuroscience, cyber physical systems and their impact on communication technologies. The book includes content related to cognitive disorders, computational intelligence, fuzzy logics, evolutionary computing that are important for deriving a roadmap for future research on cognitive science/systems and communications. ICCCE is one of the most prestigious conferences conceptualized in the transdisciplinary field of cognitive science and communication technology areas like methods of linguistics, computer science, philosophy, and neuroscience. This edition of the conference was attended by several Industry professionals and academicians, and Government agencies to cover a broad range of perspectives, practices, and technical expertise related to cognitive technologies and next generation communications. Articles presented cover innovations from industry, outcome of implementations and cutting-edge research outcomes from cognitive science/technology areas and their impact on communication technology and cyber physical engineering. ​

Virtual Reality (VR) is a rapidly maturing technology that offers new and unique solutions to otherwise intractable problems in the study of cognition, behavior and neuroscience. VR removes many of the constraints imposed by laboratory paradigms, allowing us to track cognitive, behavioral and brain responses to naturalistic (or even impossible) situations without sacrificing experimental control. But VR is not a tool that can be swiftly and effortlessly integrated into existing research pipelines; currently, the benefits of VR are accompanied by a host of methodological challenges and important practical considerations. To help navigate this new methodology, this volume provides a balanced review of both the exciting new findings emerging from VR labs and the challenges and limitations that are part and parcel of VR research. This volume is an important first step toward establishing a standardised methodology for conducting research in VR. To this end, thevolume provides a wealth of practical advice for researchers who are new to the technology. This volume is authored by an interdisciplinary team of VR researchers including computer scientists, engineers, psychologists and neuroscientists. It highlights current research in the field to demonstrate how VR advances our understanding of the mind, while also providing groundbreaking solutions in applied domains.

This book reviews the potential effect of diet modification, lipids, and carbohydrate consumptions, vitamin supplementation, antioxidants, and nutraceuticals in the prevention and management of Alzheimer's disease. The initial chapter of the book presents the pathophysiological mechanisms, risk factors, genetic predisposition, disease diagnosis, pathology, and current treatment strategies against Alzheimer's disease. It also highlights recent developments in exploring novel compounds for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Subsequently, it highlights the therapeutic effect and regulation of molecular targets by natural compounds. The book discusses the potential of natural compounds in inhibiting the formation and deposition of Aβ peptides. It examines the natural compounds in modulating intracellular signaling molecules and enzymes involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. In summary, this book helps understand the role of natural compounds as a therapeutic approach in amelioration and preventing detrimental effects of Alzheimer's disease.

One of the world's leading experts on mind and brain takes us on an expedition that reveals a new view of what makes us who we are.Humans have long thought of their bodies and minds as separate spheres of existence. The body is physical—the source of aches and pains. But the mind is mental; it perceives, remembers, believes, feels, and imagines. Although modern science has largely eliminated this mind-body dualism, people still tend to imagine their minds as separate from their physical being. Even in research, the notion of the “self” as somehow distinct from the rest of the organism persists.Joseph LeDoux argues that we have hit an epistemological wall—that ideas like the self are increasingly barriers to discovery and understanding. He offers a new framework of who we are, theorizing four realms of existence—bodily, neural, cognitive, and conscious.The biological realm makes life possible. Hence, every living thing exists biologically. Animals, uniquely, supplement biological existence with a nervous system. This neural component enables them to control their bodies with speed and precision unseen in other forms of life. Some animals with nervous systems possess a cognitive realm, which allows the creation of internal representations of the world around them. These mental models are used to control a wide range of behaviors. Finally, the conscious realm allows its possessors to have inner experiences of, and thoughts about, the world.Together, LeDoux shows, these four realms make humans who and what we are. They cooperate continuously and underlie our capacity to live and experience ourselves as beings with a past, present, and future. The result, LeDoux shows, is not a self but an “ensemble of being” that subsumes our entire human existence, both as individuals and as a species.

This book develops and details a rigorous, canonical modeling approach for analyzing spatio-temporal brain wave dynamics. The nonlinear, nonstationary behavior of brain wave measures and general uncertainty associated with the brain makes it difficult to apply modern system identification techniques to such systems. While there is a substantial amount of literature on the use of stationary analyses for brain waves, relatively less work has considered real-time estimation and imaging of brain waves from noninvasive measurements. This book addresses the issue of modeling and imaging brain waves and biomarkers generally, treating the nonlinear and nonstationary dynamics in near real-time. Using a modal state-space formulation leads to intuitive, physically significant models which are used for analysis and diagnosis.A Modal Approach to the Space-Time Dynamics of Cognitive Biomarkers provides a much-needed reference for practicing researchers in biomarker modeling leveraging the lens of engineering dynamics.

A lavishly illustrated and accessibly explained deep dive into the major new findings from cognitive neuroscience.Who are we? To this age-old question, contemporary neuroscience gives a simple answer: we are exquisite neuronal machines. Each of our dreams, thoughts, and feelings arises from a pattern of activity in our brain. In Stanislas Dehaene's Seeing the Mind, we learn not only that the mind maps onto the brain, but that it is just a complex electrical motif on the tapestry of our neurons. In this richly illustrated and highly accessible book, Dehaene uses the power of brain images to tell the story of centuries-old efforts to understand who we are, and how it is possible that our thoughts emerge from just three pounds of flesh. Seeing the Mind is divided into one hundred topics, each described by a spectacular full-page color image and, on the facing page, a brief text that explains what this image means and why it matters. By weaving together images and text, the book brings readers into the intimacy of their own brains. As Dehaene explains, “All the gorgeous biological processes that you are about to discover are taking place, right now, inside your own brain.” A modern cabinet of curiosities, Seeing the Mind is an intriguing and memorable read that will astonish readers with a direct, face-to-face meeting with themselves—and with the material stuff of their thoughts and dreams.

This Open Access book presents the current state of the art knowledge on social and affective neuroscience based on empirical findings. This volume is divided into several sections first guiding the reader through important theoretical topics within affective neuroscience, social neuroscience and moral emotions, and clinical neuroscience. Each chapter addresses everyday social interactions and various aspects of social interactions from a different angle taking the reader on a diverse journey. The last section of the book is of methodological nature. Basic information is presented for the reader to learn about common methodologies used in neuroscience alongside advanced input to deepen the understanding and usability of these methods in social and affective neuroscience for more experienced readers.

A comprehensive neurocognitive theory of dreaming based on the theories, methodologies, and findings of cognitive neuroscience and the psychological sciences.G. William Domhoff's neurocognitive theory of dreaming is the only theory of dreaming that makes full use of the new neuroimaging findings on all forms of spontaneous thought and shows how well they explain the results of rigorous quantitative studies of dream content. Domhoff identifies five separate issues—neural substrates, cognitive processes, the psychological meaning of dream content, evolutionarily adaptive functions, and historically invented cultural uses—and then explores how they are intertwined. He also discusses the degree to which there is symbolism in dreams, the development of dreaming in children, and the relative frequency of emotions in the dreams of children and adults. During dreaming, the neural substrates that support waking sensory input, task-oriented thinking, and movement are relatively deactivated. Domhoff presents the conditions that have to be fulfilled before dreaming can occur spontaneously. He describes the specific cognitive processes supported by the neural substrate of dreaming and then looks at dream reports of research participants. The “why” of dreaming, he says, may be the most counterintuitive outcome of empirical dream research. Though the question is usually framed in terms of adaptation, there is no positive evidence for an adaptive theory of dreaming. Research by anthropologists, historians, and comparative religion scholars, however, suggests that dreaming has psychological and cultural uses, with the most important of these found in religious ceremonies and healing practices. Finally, he offers suggestions for how future dream studies might take advantage of new technologies, including smart phones.

After years of neurohype and a neuroskeptic backlash, this book provides a systematic analysis of the contributions to self-understanding cognitive neuroscience (CNS) and philosophy can make. The stories of five people in search of self-understanding serve as touchstone throughout the book. Their identities are tied up with what they love. The book provides in-depth analyses of CNS of love and CNS of self-reflection. It critically discusses philosophers who focus on the relation between love, self-understanding and selfhood, such as Harry Frankfurt, Susan Wolf, Charles Taylor and Søren Kierkegaard. It also builds an argument about CNS'contributions to self-understanding more broadly, and how different these are from philosophy's contributions. The book develops conceptual review as a philosophical method for improving the validity and comparability of CNS studies. It integrates CNS insights into its philosophical view on love and selfhood where applicable. This book thus argues and exemplifies that philosophy and CNS can work together.

A look at the extraordinary ways the brain turns thoughts into actions—and how this shapes our everyday livesWhy is it hard to text and drive at the same time? How do you resist eating that extra piece of cake? Why does staring at a tax form feel mentally exhausting? Why can your child expertly fix the computer and yet still forget to put on a coat? From making a cup of coffee to buying a house to changing the world around them, humans are uniquely able to execute necessary actions. How do we do it? Or in other words, how do our brains get things done? In On Task, cognitive neuroscientist David Badre presents the first authoritative introduction to the neuroscience of cognitive control—the remarkable ways that our brains devise sophisticated actions to achieve our goals. We barely notice this routine part of our lives. Yet, cognitive control, also known as executive function, is an astonishing phenomenon that has a profound impact on our well-being.Drawing on cutting-edge research, vivid clinical case studies, and examples from daily life, Badre sheds light on the evolution and inner workings of cognitive control. He examines issues from multitasking and willpower to habitual errors and bad decision making, as well as what happens as our brains develop in childhood and change as we age—and what happens when cognitive control breaks down. Ultimately, Badre shows that cognitive control affects just about everything we do.A revelatory look at how billions of neurons collectively translate abstract ideas into concrete plans, On Task offers an eye-opening investigation into the brain's critical role in human behavior.

Cognitive mathematics provides insights into how mathematics works inside the brain and how it is interconnected with other faculties through so-called blending and other associative processes. This handbook is the first large collection of various aspects of cognitive mathematics to be amassed into a single title, covering decades of connection between mathematics and other figurative processes as they manifest themselves in language, art, and even algorithms. It will be of use to anyone working in math cognition and education, with each section of the handbook edited by an international leader in that field.

The book focuses on original approaches intended to support the development of biologically inspired cognitive architectures. It bridges together different disciplines, including artificial intelligence, linguistics, neuro- and social sciences, psychology and philosophy of mind, among others. The chapters are based on contributions presented at the 12th Annual Meeting of the BICA Society (BICA 2021), which consisted of two parallel virtual events: Information in Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures based Systems, held during the 2021 Summit of the International Society for the Study of Information, on September 12-19, 2021, from Vienna, Austria, and the 2021 International Workshop on Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures, held during the 21st ACM International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, on September 14-17, 2021, from the Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto, Japan. The book discusses emerging methods, theories and ideas towards the realization of general-purpose humanlike artificial intelligence or fostering a better understanding of the ways the human mind works. It provides engineers, mathematicians, psychologists, computer scientists and other experts with a timely snapshot of recent research and a source of inspiration for future developments in the broadly intended areas of artificial intelligence and biological inspiration.

This book explores the molecular mechanisms of iron hemostasis in the brain and discusses the cognitive and behavioral implications of iron deficiency. It presents the effect of iron dysregulation on neurophysiological mechanisms. The book provides an overview of iron metabolism and homeostasis at the cellular level and its regulation at the mRNA translation level. It emphasizes the importance of iron for brain development in fetal and early life in preterm infants. Further, it presents iron metabolism as a therapeutic target for novel pharmacological treatment against neurodevelopmental diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. It discusses the role of iron deficiency in sleep disorders and offers diagnosis and treatment of iron-related CNS diseases. Finally, it relates dysregulated expression of iron-related genes in brain tumors. ​​

This book explores connections between music, neural activations and brain plasticity, in order to better understand its associated psychological and physiological effects. The final goal is to focus on the positive effects of music to treat neurological disorders, establishing a new co-ordination between different brain areas to improve both mental illness and wellbeing. A secondary goal is to analyse the role of music at a psycho-sociological level, to understand both the transformation of music into a cultural model and the vision of music as an innate instinct.Music is able to create both emotions and volitional processes. The application of new neuroimaging techniques allows us to explore and evaluate with accuracy what happens in our brain during the creative and artistic performance. A wide range of brain regions are recruited for creative tasks, and music has the opportunity to help in enhance and reset some brain pathological disturbances being also able to ameliorate and restore some rhythmic body activities such as sleep, movement and co-ordination. The book represents a valuable and innovative tool both for neurologists as well as healthcare professionals involved in the management of neurological disorders.

The aim of the book is to introduce the state-of-the-art technologies in the field of brain and cognitive intelligence used in robotics control, particularly on studying how the brain learns and controls complex motor skills and how to replicate these in robots. This will be the first book that systematically and thoroughly deals with the above topics. Advances made in the past decades are described. Interesting topics such as human-robot interactions, neurorobotics, biomechanics in robotic control, robot vision, force control, and control and coordination of humanoid robots are covered.

This book offers a new theoretical framework within which to understand “the mind-body problem”. The crux of this problem is phenomenal experience, which Thomas Nagel famously described as “what it is like” to be a certain living creature. David Chalmers refers to the problem of “what-it-is-like” as “the hard problem” of consciousness and claims that this problem is so “hard” that investigators have either just ignored the issue completely, investigated a similar (but distinct) problem, or claimed that there is literally nothing to investigate – that phenomenal experience is illusory. This book contends that phenomenal experience is both very real and very important. Two specific “biological naturalist” views are considered in depth. One of these two views, in particular, seems to be free from problems; adopting something along the lines of this view might finally allow us to make sense of the mind-body problem.An essential read for anyone who believes that nosatisfactory solution to “the mind-body problem” has yet been discovered.

A new, biologically driven model of human behavior in which reason is tethered to the evolutionarily older autonomic, instinctive, and associative systems. In Reason and Less, Vinod Goel explains the workings of the tethered mind. Reason does not float on top of our biology but is tethered to evolutionarily older autonomic, instinctive, and associative systems. After describing the conceptual and neuroanatomical basis of each system, Goel shows how they interact to generate a blended response. Goel's commonsense account drives human behavior back into the biology, where it belongs, and provides a richer set of tools for understanding how we pursue food, sex, and politics. Goel takes the reader on a journey through psychology (cognitive, behavioral, developmental, and evolutionary), neuroscience, philosophy, ethology, economics, and political science to explain the workings of the tethered mind. One key insight that holds everything together is that feelings—generated in old, widely conserved brain stem structures—are evolution's solution to initiating and selecting all behaviors, and provide the common currency for the different systems to interact. Reason is as much about feelings as are lust and the taste of chocolate cake. All systems contribute to behavior and the overall control structure is one that maximizes pleasure and minimizes displeasure. Tethered rationality has some sobering and challenging implications for such real-world human behaviors as climate change denial, Trumpism, racism, or sexism. They cannot be changed simply by targeting beliefs but will require more drastic measures, the nature of which depends on the specific behavior in question. Having an accurate model of human behavior is the crucial first step.