The complexity of the brain and the protean nature of behaviour remain the most elusive area of science, but also the most important. Written by 23 experts from many areas of systems neuroscience, this book provides a useful roadmap to the field of systems neuroscience, and aims to serve as a source of inspiration for explorers of the brain.

Part I How have brains evolved? ; 1. Shall we ever understand the fly's brain? ; 2. Can we understand the action of brain in natural environments? ; 3. Hemisphere dominance of brain function-which functions are lateralized and why? ; Part II How is the cerebral cortex organized? ; 4. What is the function of the thalamus? ; 5. What is a neuronal map, how does it arise, and what is it good for? ; 6. What is fed back? ; Part III How do neurons interact? ; 7. How Can the Brain be so Fast? ; 8. What is the Neural Code? ; 9. Are single cortical neurons independent or are they obedient members of a huge orchestra? ; 10. What is the other 85% of V1 doing? ; Part IV What can brains compute? ; 11. Which computation runs in visual cortical columns? ; 12. Are neurons adapted for specific computations? Examples from temporal coding in the auditory system ; 13. How is time represented in the brain? ; 14. How general are neural codes in sensory systems? ; 15. How does the hearing system perform auditory scene analysis? ; 16. How does our visual system achieve shift and size invariance? ; 17. What is reflected in sensory neocortical activity: External stimuli or what the cortex does with them? ; 18. Do perception and action result from different brain circuits? The three visual systems hypothesis ; 19. What are the projective fields of cortical neurons? ; 20. How are the features of objects integrated into perceptual wholes that are selected by attention? ; 21. Where are the switches on this thing? ; 22. Synesthesia: What does it tell us about the emergence of qualia, metaphor, abstract thought and language? ; 23. What are the neural correlates of consciousness?

"Neuroscience has a rather briefer history than mathematics, but Leo van Hemmen and Terry Sejnowski felt that it was nonetheless mature enough for them to organize a meeting on Problems in Neuroscience a century after Hilberts address. This printed version of their meeting, 23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience, has taken six years to arrive, but it is not too late and certainly not too little. In the place of one Hilbert are 40 problem-posers who have collectively contributed the 23 chapters, grouped into sections that sum up 5 current concerns: How have brains evolved? How is cerebral cortex organized? How do neurons interact? What can brains compute? How are cognitive systems organized? With such an attractive list of topics, this book is sure to find a wide audience at every level of interest, from lay readers to students and academics."--Kevan A.C. Martin, Nature "Forty authors contribute twenty-three chapters in this book. Divided into five sections, this book reflects the interaction between genetics and morphology, function, and a possible influence in behavior. The difficulty of the topic is explained in accessible manner by leading world authorities. The illustrations are self-explanatory and the references, up-to-date. In my view, there are hardly any shortcomings in the book." --Celso Agner, MD, MSc(Albany Medical Center), Doody's "The chapters read well, are well illustrated, and have useful reference sections. Even if your favorite area of neurosceince is not covered, you will find plenty to interest you in this volume."--Physiology News "Neuroscience has a rather briefer history than mathematics, but Leo van Hemmen and Terry Sejnowski felt that it was nonetheless mature enough for them to organize a meeting on Problems in Neuroscience a century after Hilberts address. This printed version of their meeting, 23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience, has taken six years to arrive, but it is not too late and certainly not too little. In the place of one Hilbert are 40 problem-posers who have collectively contributed the 23 chapters, grouped into sections that sum up 5 current concerns: How have brains evolved? How is cerebral cortex organized? How do neurons interact? What can brains compute? How are cognitive systems organized? With such an attractive list of topics, this book is sure to find a wide audience at every level of interest, from lay readers to students and academics."--Kevan A.C. Martin, Nature "Forty authors contribute twenty-three chapters in this book. Divided into five sections, this book reflects the interaction between genetics and morphology, function, and a possible influence in behavior. The difficulty of the topic is explained in accessible manner by leading world authorities. The illustrations are self-explanatory and the references, up-to-date. In my view, there are hardly any shortcomings in the book." --Celso Agner, MD, MSc(Albany Medical Center), Doody's "23 Problems in Systems Neuroscience addresses this 'how' of thought and perception. How have brains evolved? How is cerebral cortex organized? How do neurons interact? What can brains compute? How are cognitive systems organized? 23 Problems is the outcome of a gathering of 40 of the most respected researchers in cognitive and computational neuroscience. In the six years after the conference, the editors distilled and refined the proceedings into 23 chapters. However, the book retains the intellectual delight of good scientists at play. The authors delved into the provocative questions, but did so through examination of the microphysical processes."--PsycCRITIQUES