The Handbook of Brain Theory and Neural Networks (Bradford Book)

Book Description

In hundreds of articles by experts from around the world, and in overviews and "road maps" prepared by the editor, The Handbook of Brain Theory and Neural Networks charts the immense progress made in recent years in many specific areas related to great questions: How does the brain work? How can we build intelligent machines?

While many books discuss limited aspects of one subfield or another of brain theory and neural networks, the Handbook covers the entire sweep of topics--from detailed models of single neurons, analyses of a wide variety of biological neural networks, and connectionist studies of psychology and language, to mathematical analyses of a variety of abstract neural networks, and technological applications of adaptive, artificial neural networks.

Expository material makes the book accessible to readers with varied backgrounds while still offering a clear view of the recent, specialized research on specific topics.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent reference work on brain theory.......2007-01-05

The articles in this work are written by a who's who list of authors from the cognitive and computational neuroscience community. Each article is useful for getting an initial bearing on a topic from this dynamic field. The references for each article serve as useful "jumping off points" for further learning. It should be noted that this text is not a typical college textbook -- it is a reference work. As such, a beginner to the field should consider one of the other introductory textbooks (perhaps "The Cognitive Neurosciences").

Misleading title, a useful book otherwise.......2005-01-04

Look through this book to convince yourself that an exact brain theory does not exist. The arrangement of the articles by the first letter of their title tells it all (consider classifying animals by the first letter of their name). The editors wrongly assume that mathematical methods equal theory; actually, theory is a small conceptual tent under which a large number of experimentally established facts can be gathered. In most cases, mathematics is a very useful tool in pitching this tent, but it has little to do with the tent itself.

An exact theory of the brain may be possible and we are in dire need of it. Unfortunately, nobody has come up with it yet. This book is an encyclopedia of various mathematical methods that have been used to solve various neuroscience problems. These methods and solutions are as diverse as the problems themselves. Don't look for common themes in this book. If you are looking for a unified brain theory, you'll be much better off reading standard neuroscience textbooks. I do hope one day we'll be able to cast these vague ideas into something precise and, most likely, mathematical. Sadly, not today. I own a copy of this book and use it to remind me why and how we have failed so far.

It should be kept in mind that it is not at all clear that "neural" networks can emulate consciousness. They may or they may not. Firstly, a single neuron resembles a computer processor in its complexity and is a constantly evolving entity. Secondly, only 10% of brain cells are neurons and the remaining 90% (glial cells) now too appear to be involved in information processing. At a more fundamental level, consciousness may be less algorithmic and computational than we expect. Finally, the brain and the reality "outside the brain" are a two-way street. As the great neuroscientist Cajal put it, "As long as our brain remains an arcanum, the Universe, a reflection of its structure, will also be a mystery". If we assume the brain analyzes something, we need to define a reality independent of this analysis -- a hardly possible task if standard "input-output" approaches are used.

If the title of this book were "Current Mathematical Methods in Neurosciences", I'd have no problem giving it five stars.

November 2005: The chapters in the second edition are still arranged alphabetically. I refuse to believe neuro-mathematicians cannot think more coherently.

One final note for those looking for serious conceptual advances on the theoretical front: do no miss "Spikes: Exploring the Neural Code" (edited by F. Rieke) and "Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain: The Science of Neuroeconomics" by Paul Glimcher.

Basic science for consciousness.......2001-10-10

Research is tedious, but if you want to know the nitty-gritty of mind-brain theory and neural networking, this book is an invaluable resource for basic, relevant, and accessible papers on the subjects. Encompassing seminal works from an unusually broad range of disciplines, here is an outstanding reference for those concerned with the mechanisms of intelligence.

Excellent compilation.......2001-06-03

This complilation of articles by leading experts in the field gives an excellent overview of studies in cognitive theory and the theory and applications of neural networks. The first two parts of the book give an overview and background of the properties of neurons and gives guidance to the reader on what sequence the articles are to be read. I did not read all of the articles, but only those that piqued my interest. I found the following articles particularly well-written and informative: 1. "Applications of Neural Networks": Outlines the diverse applications of neural networks to signal processing, time series, imaging, etc. 2. "Astronomy": Neural network applications in astronomy, such as adaptive optics and telescope guidance. 3. "Chains of Coupled Oscillators": Their connection with the lamprey central pattern generator. 4. "Chaos in Axons": An excellent review of chaos experimentally in squid axons and numerically with nerve equations. 5. "Collective Behavior of Coupled Oscillators": A study of the phase and complex Ginzburg-Landau model. 6. "Computer Modeling Methods for Neurons": Good overview of numerical modeling of neurons. 7. "Computing with Attractors": Overview of omputing and feedback networks with attractors and a fascinating discussion of the possible existence of attractors in the brain. 8. "Constrained Optimization and the Elastic Net": Useful discussion of application of neural networks to optimization problems. 9. "Data Clustering and Learning": Good discussion of parameter estimation of mixture models by parametric statistics and vector quantization of a data set by combinatorial optimization. 10. "Diffusion Models of Neuron Activity": Discusses 1-dimensional stochastic diffusion models for the neuron membrane potential. 11. "Disease: Neural Network Models": Interesting overview of neural net computational models of various mental illnesses. 12. "Dynamics and Bifurcation of Neural Networks": Discussion of neural nets and their behavior as dynamical systems. 13. "Emotion and Computational Neuroscience": Fascinating discussion of computational models of emotion. 14. "Investment Management": A discussion of tactical asset allocation neural network methods in asset management. 15. "Learning and Centralization: Theoretical Bounds": Overview of computational learning theory. 16. "Locust Flight": Interesting neural network study of the locust flight system. 17. "Neural Optimization": Discussion of combinatorial optimization using Ising and Potts neural networks. 18. "PAC Learning and Neural Networks": Overview of the Valiant "probabilistically correct learning paradigm in neural networks. 19. "Protein Structure Prediction": Neural network applications to prediction of protein secondary structure. 20. "Schema Theory": Extremely interesting overview of schemas. 21. "Speech Recognition: Pattern Matching": Excellent discussion of the applications of hidden Markov models to speech recognition. 22. "Statistical Mechanics of Neural Networks": Discussion of the use of the Hopfield model in neural networks. 23. Vapnik-Chervonenkis Dimension of Neural Networks": Very interesting discussion of the VC-dimension of neural networks.

Neural Network Bible.......2000-07-29

This is THE neural network and brain theory reference. Owning it is like owning an entire library, though much more compact.

Book Description

Description Logics are knowledge representation languages that have been studied extensively in artificial intelligence over the last two decades. This Handbook covers all aspects of research in this field; including theory, implementation, and applications. Its appeal is broad, ranging from more theoretically-oriented readers, to those with more practically-oriented interests who need a sound and modern understanding of knowledge representation systems based on Description Logics. The chapters by some of the most prominent researchers in the field first introduce the basic technical material before addressing the current state of the subject. This unique reference can also be used for self-study or in conjunction with knowledge representation and artificial intelligence courses.

Download Description

Description Logics are knowledge representation languages that have been studied extensively in artificial intelligence over the last two decades. The Description Logic Handbook covers all aspects of research in this field; including theory, implementation, and applications. Its appeal is broad, ranging from more theoretically-oriented readers, to those with more practically-oriented interests who need a sound and modern understanding of knowledge representation systems based on Description Logics. The chapters by some of the most prominent researchers in the field first introduce the basic technical material before addressing the current state of the subject. This unique reference can also be used for self-study or in conjunction with knowledge representation and artificial intelligence courses.

Customer Reviews:

Great Resource For The Seriously Interested.......2004-12-16

This book is written, chapter by chapter, by many of the most important researchers in this field- Since it is an advanced text, the content is a bit uneven and varied in writing style- It is essentially a compendium of review articles by experienced researches covering the various facets of the DL community. The choppy design is a small tradeoff for being able to get some very up-to-date information on Description Logics.

I was searching for some information on basic/moderate algorithms for DL subsumption and found it a challenge to uncover the information... However, it was all to be found in this book, just buried under a few layers of notation and language that took a while to get used to. This is a book that favors concise mathematical notation over simplified explanations and expects the reader to understand the algorithms without many concrete examples to help in processing the information- not a novice text.

If you are new to the field of Description Logics, I would recommend reading "Knowledge Representation and Reasoning" first (which shares some authors with this book) and _then_ acquire this more advanced text when you are ready.

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Handbook Of Intelligence
Robert J., Ed. Sternberg
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

International Handbook of Intelligence
Thinking Styles
Teaching Successful Intelligence
The Handbook of Emotional Intelligence : Theory, Development, Assessment, and Application at Home, School and in the Workplace
Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid

ASIN: 0521596483

Book Description

Not since the landmark publication of Handbook of Human Intelligence in 1982 has the field of intelligence been more alive than it is today. Spurred by the new developments in a rapidly expanding field, Robert Sternberg has brought together a stellar list of contributors to provide a comprehensive, broad and deeply thematic review of intelligence that will be accessible to both scholar and student. Handbook of Intelligence is greatly expanded to cover areas such as animal and artificial intelligence, as well as human intelligence, fully reflecting important theoretical progress made since the early 1980s.

Philosophy of Psychology and Cognitive Science (Handbook of the Philosophy of Science)

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Philosophy of Psychology and Cognitive Science (Handbook of the Philosophy of Science)
Paul, Ed. Thagard
Manufacturer: North Holland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0444515402

Book Description

Psychology is the study of thinking, and cognitive science is the interdisciplinary investigation of mind and intelligence that also includes philosophy, artificial intelligence, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology. In these investigations, many philosophical issues arise concerning methods and central concepts.

The Handbook of Philosophy of Psychology and Cognitive Science contains 16 essays by leading philosophers of science that illuminate the nature of the theories and explanations used in the investigation of minds.

Topics discussed include representation, mechanisms, reduction, perception, consciousness, language, emotions, neuroscience, and evolutionary psychology.

Key Features
- Comprehensive coverage of philosophy of psychology and cognitive science
- Distinguished contributors: leading philosophers in this area
- Contributions closely tied to relevant scientific research

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personal impression
Definitive guide for face recognition systems

Handbook of Face Recognition
A. K., Ed. Jain
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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Biometric Systems: Technology, Design and Performance Evaluation
Reliable Face Recognition Methods: System Design, Implementation and Evaluation (International Series on Biometrics)
Multimodal Biometrics: Human Recogniction Systems (International Series on Biometrics)
Handbook of Fingerprint Recognition
Dynamic Vision: From Images to Face Recognition (Image Processing)

Accessories:

Intermediate Robot Building
Introduction to Evolutionary Computing (Natural Computing Series)
Artificial General Intelligence (Cognitive Technologies)

ASIN: 038740595X

Book Description

Although the history of computer-aided face recognition stretches back to the 1960s, automatic face recognition remains an unsolved problem and still offers a great challenge to computer-vision and pattern recognition researchers. This handbook is a comprehensive account of face recognition research and technology, written by a group of leading international researchers. Twelve chapters cover all the sub-areas and major components for designing operational face recognition systems. Background, modern techniques, recent results, and challenges and future directions are considered.

The book is aimed at practitioners and professionals planning to work in face recognition or wanting to become familiar with the state-of- the-art technology. A comprehensive handbook, by leading research authorities, on the concepts, methods, and algorithms for automated face detection and recognition. Essential reference resource for researchers and professionals in biometric security, computer vision, and video image analysis.

Customer Reviews:

personal impression.......2007-03-05

Not quite as good as the handbook of fingerprint technology, but still a fairly good summary of the state of the art in todays facial recognition technology. It seemed like it could have been a little deeper in places such as the area of justice with mugshots.

Definitive guide for face recognition systems.......2005-12-09

This book contains math and pattern recognition concepts that are not for the faint of heart. However, given that you have some background in pattern recognition and computer vision this book is an invaluable resource for face detection and recognition algorithms and technologies.
Chapter one is a fast paced introduction and goes over face recognition processing from the standpoint of analysis in "face subspaces" along with the technical challenges and solutions that are current.
Chapters two through twelve are all about the many algorithms needed for face recognition and the considerations behind them. First the book tackles how to detect human faces within images. Next the issues of modeling face shape and appearance and tracking faces are explored. Examples of tracker implementations are given. The next few chapters deal with varying conditions and face recognition such as illumination modeling and facial skin color. Chapter seven is a lengthy one on face recognition in subspaces which includes the famous eigenfaces, tensorfaces, and fisherfaces methods. Chapter eight deals with the real-world problem of face tracking and recognition from video and how one does the simultaneous tracking and recognition which is necessary when dealing with video. Chapter 9 is about face recognition in the presence of changing pose and illumination. The concepts of and solutions for normalizing for illumination differences and of modeling pose and illumination are presented. Chapters 10 and 11 round out the algorithmic portion of the book and talk about the more advanced topics of morphable models of faces and facial expression analysis. The math here is quite advanced especially on the topic of morphable models. Chapter 12 is a very short chapter about face synthesis, and seems to be a review of the previous ten chapters on face recognition algorithms along with some new material.
Chapter 13 goes on to the much less mathematical topic of face databases.The various databases of face recognition, detection, and expression analysis are listed and discussed. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 are very accessible and can be understood by both practitioners and by managers wishing to investigate the larger less technical issues of face recogniton. These three chapters are about performance evaluation, psychological and neural perspectives, and face recognition applications respectively.
I would highly recommend this book to individuals who are interested in the implementation of facial recognition systems. Even though it is an edited volume written by a variety of specialists in the field, it has the well-composed feel of a book written by a single author and moves smoothly from one topic to another. You will probably need to supplement your reading if you are trying to design an entire system from scratch, but many of the algorithms needed are detailed in this book. Also, there is an outstanding bibliography for further investigation of various subjects. I have found that a good supplement to the facial expression analysis and the MPEG-4 sections of this book is "MPEG-4 Facial Animation: The Standard, Implementation and Applications" by Pandzic & Forchheimer. It goes into great detail on subjects for which there is simply no practical amount of space in this book.

Handbook of Geometric Computing: Applications in Pattern Recognition, Computer Vision, Neuralcomputing, and Robotics

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Handbook of Geometric Computing: Applications in Pattern Recognition, Computer Vision, Neuralcomputing, and Robotics
E., Ed. Bayro Corrochano
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540205950

Book Description

Many computer scientists, engineers, applied mathematicians, and physicists use geometry theory and geometric computing methods in the design of perception-action systems, intelligent autonomous systems, and man-machine interfaces. This handbook brings together the most recent advances in the application of geometric computing for building such systems, with contributions from leading experts in the important fields of neuroscience, neural networks, image processing, pattern recognition, computer vision, uncertainty in geometric computations, conformal computational geometry, computer graphics and visualization, medical imagery, geometry and robotics, and reaching and motion planning. For the first time, the various methods are presented in a comprehensive, unified manner. This handbook is highly recommended for postgraduate students and researchers working on applications such as automated learning; geometric and fuzzy reasoning; human-like artificial vision; tele-operation; space maneuvering; haptics; rescue robots; man-machine interfaces; tele-immersion; computer- and robotics-aided neurosurgery or orthopedics; the assembly and design of humanoids; and systems for metalevel reasoning.

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Handbook Od Genetic Algorithms
LAWRENCE,ED. DAVIS
Manufacturer: Thomson Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Handbook of Genetic Algorithms is really two books combined into one. The first book is a 100-page introduction to genetic algorithms. It covers the basic genetic algorithm along with hybrid genetic algorithms and order-based genetic algorithms. The second book is a collection of 13 academic articles on genetic algorithm applications. These articles cover a wide range of applications, including aircraft design, multiple-fault diagnosis, and sequence scheduling, and appear to have no common theme. The introduction to genetic algorithms is accessible to anyone who has taken a few computer science courses; the academic articles assume that you are well versed in genetic algorithm theory.

Methodologies and Software Engineering for Agent Systems: The Agent- Oriented Software Engineering Handbook (MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS, ARTIFICIAL SOCIETIES, AND SIMULATED ORGANIZATIONS)

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Methodologies and Software Engineering for Agent Systems: The Agent- Oriented Software Engineering Handbook (MULTIAGENT SYSTEMS, ARTIFICIAL SOCIETIES, AND SIMULATED ORGANIZATIONS)
F., Ed. Bergenti
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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Developing Intelligent Agent Systems: A Practical Guide (Wiley Series in Agent Technology)

ASIN: 1402080573

Book Description

With increasing acceptance of agent-based computing, a great deal of new research related to the identification and definition of suitable models, and techniques to support the development of complex Multiagent Systems (MAS) has emerged. This research generally identified as Agent-Oriented Software Engineering (AOSE), continually proposes new metaphors, new formal modeling approaches and techniques, and new developement methodologies and tools. The contributions in Methodology and Software Engineering for Agent Systems, written by leading international researchers, bring together these diverse research results and proposals. The book is separated into six parts, providing the reader with introductory material, concepts and techniques that already provide results for practical use, and research that is still more investigative in nature.

Handbook of Constraint Programming (Foundations of Artificial Intelligence)

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Handbook of Constraint Programming (Foundations of Artificial Intelligence)
Francesca, Ed. Rossi
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Principles of Constraint Programming
Essentials of Constraint Programming

ASIN: 0444527265

Book Description

Constraint programming is a powerful paradigm for solving combinatorial search problems that draws on a wide range of techniques from artificial intelligence, computer science, databases, programming languages, and operations research. Constraint programming is currently applied with success to many domains, such as scheduling, planning, vehicle routing, configuration, networks, and bioinformatics.

The aim of this handbook is to capture the full breadth and depth of the constraint programming field and to be encyclopedic in its scope and coverage. While there are several excellent books on constraint programming, such books necessarily focus on the main notions and techniques and cannot cover also extensions, applications, and languages. The handbook gives a reasonably complete coverage of all these lines of work, based on constraint programming, so that a reader can have a rather precise idea of the whole field and its potential. Of course each line of work is dealt with in a survey-like style, where some details may be neglected in favor of coverage. However, the extensive bibliography of each chapter will help the interested readers to find suitable sources for the missing details. Each chapter of the handbook is intended to be a self-contained survey of a topic, and is written by one or more authors who are leading researchers in the area.

The intended audience of the handbook is researchers, graduate students, higher-year undergraduates and practitioners who wish to learn about the state-of-the-art in constraint programming. No prior knowledge about the field is necessary to be able to read the chapters and gather useful knowledge. Researchers from other fields should find in this handbook an effective way to learn about constraint programming and to possibly use some of the constraint programming concepts and techniques in their work, thus providing a means for a fruitful cross-fertilization among different research areas.

The handbook is organized in two parts. The first part covers the basic foundations of constraint programming, including the history, the notion of constraint propagation, basic search methods, global constraints, tractability and computational complexity, and important issues in modeling a problem as a constraint problem. The second part covers constraint languages and solver, several useful extensions to the basic framework (such as interval constraints, structured domains, and distributed CSPs), and successful application areas for constraint programming.

- Covers the whole field of constraint programming
- Survey-style chapters
- Five chapters on applications

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Simply, don't buy!

The Ultimate Palm Robot (Consumer)
Kevin Mukhar , and Dave Johnson
Manufacturer: Osborne/McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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PDA Robotics
JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots With BEAM Technology

ASIN: 0072228806

Book Description

Recorded too many addresses you’ll never need? Can’t remember how the make a question mark in Graffiti? Recycle your old handheld and build your own Palm-powered robot. Complete with proprietary software designed specially for Osborne to assist with robot operation.

Customer Reviews:

Simply, don't buy!.......2006-08-24

This is the first time I gave a book 1 star. The reason is that this book should not be sold as stand alone product, but with the kit from Acroname that this book is 100% tied to. The cost of the kit is 300+ USD! The writters falsely tell that you can build a robot by two options: from the kit and from the "scratch". Well, this "from scratch" is simply a lie! To build Palm controlled robot you need some kind of interface between Palm and motors, sensors, etc. Well, this book tells you to buy that interface from...guess who....Acroname! Building it from "scratch" would mean that you are provided with optional schematic diagram that would allow you to build interface. But it doesn't. Everything in the book is tioed to Acroname and its kit. The only good thing is software that comes with this book, but only if you buy that kit from Acroname (remember 300+ USD). This is the only reason book can get that 1 star, otherwise this is a perfect ZERO star book. Stay away from it!

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