Research in Computational Neuroscience

 

The founding of the Neurone Doctrine Drawing of individual nerve cells in a section of stained neural tissue by Santiago Ramón y Cajal.  The different types of neurones are labelled with different letters.

“Against a clear background stood black threadlets, some slender and smooth, some thick and thorny, in a pattern punctuated by small dense spots.
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All was sharp as a sketch with Chinese ink on transparent Japanese paper.
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A look was enough – dumfounded I could not take my eye from the microscope.”

Based on his extensive studies, and his renowned drawings, Cajal proposed that the nervous system consisted of separate units, or neurones. The prevailing view at the time was that the nervous system consisted of a single network of continuous elements, a view that was shared by Golgi.

Cajal was the first to propose the alternative, and now accepted view, that the nervous system consists of billions of independent neurones. Cajal's work resulted in the formulation of the “Neuron Doctrine”, and the founding of the modern era in Neuroscience. Cajal and Golgi shared the 1906 Nobel prize in Medicine for their work.

What is Computational  Neuroscience?

Computational Neuroscience is a more recent endeavour involving interaction between the Physical Sciences (Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics) and Life Sciences (Neuroscience, Psychology, Neurophysiology) which aims to understand the operation of the nervous system through the use of techniques which include mathematical analysis of neural signals, and modelling of the electrical activity in single neurones and groups of neurones. The field is also referred to as Cognitive Neuroscience.

"It is these boundary regions of science which offer the richest opportunities to the qualified investigator"  (Norbert Wiener, In: "Cybernetics", MIT 1948) Use the links below to explore my work in this field.

Next: Penalty Kicks; Neural Networks; Brains and Neural Coding
 

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