Main description:

Neuroscience is progressing so rapidly that even expressions such as 'by leaps and bounds' fail to capture the pace of its growth. Questions that once were thought to be unanswerable - perhaps even unaskable - have been both asked and answered, and questions once unthinkable, are routine. Topics in Integrative Neuroscience has singled out four of the most important problems in neuroscience: higher order perception; language; memory systems; and sensory processes. The volume presents original contributions by many of the leading researchers in those fields, and with an initial chapter covering neuroethics. It is impossible to capture fully the sweep of discoveries that emerged from the 'Decade of the Brain' within the covers of a single volume. It is possible, however, to provide a sample, both in recognition of what has been accomplished and as a harbinger of what is surely to come.

Contents:

List of contributors; Preface; Overview of neuroscience, choice and responsibility James R. Pomerantz; 1. Neuroscience, choice and responsibility Patricia S. Churchland; Part I. Higher Order Perception; Section 1. Overview of Higher Order Visual Perception Michael I. Posner: 2. Attention as an organ system Michael I. Posner and Jin Fan; 3. Cortical dynamics and visual perception Charles Gilbert; 4. Cortical mechanisms of visuospatial attention in humans and monkeys Sabine Kastner, Peter De Weerd, and Leslie Ungerleider; Part II. Language; Section 2. Introduction to Language Section Helen J. Neville: 5. Varying degrees of plasticity in different subsystems within language Lisa D. Sanders, Christine M. Weber-Fox and Helen J. Neville; 6. The functional architecture of speech perception David Poeppel, Martin Hackl; 7. Varieties of silence: the impact of neuro-degenerative diseases on language systems in the brain Karalyn Patterson, Naida L. Graham, Matthew A. Lamdon Ralph and John R. Hodges; 8. Why is language unique to humans? Jacques Mehler, Marina Nespor and Marcela Pena; Part III. Memory Systems; Section 3. Introduction to Memory Section Larry R. Squire: 9. Memory systems Larry R. Squire and Craig E. L. Stark; 10. A brain system for declarative memory Seth J. Ramus and Howard B. Eichenbaum; 11. The role of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala in auditory fear conditioning Hugh T. Blair, Karim Nader, Gleen E. Schafe, Elizabeth P. Bauer, Sarina M. Rodrigues and Joseph E. LeDoux; 12. On crucial roles of hippocampal NMDA receptors in acquisition and recall of associative memory Kazu Nakazawa, Matthew A. Wilson, and Susumu Tonegawa; Part IV. Sensory Processes; Section 4. Overview of Sensory Processes James R. Pomerantz: 13. Song selectivity, singing, and synaptic plasticity in songbirds Michele M. Solis, Neal A. Hessler, Charlotte A. Boettiger, and Allison J. Doupe; 14. Voltage-dependent sodium currents in hair cells of the inner ear Julian R. A. Wooltorton, Karen M. Hurley, Hong Bao, and Ruth Anne Eatock; Index.