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I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self

Name: I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self
Brand: MIT Press
SKU: 9780262621632
Price: 43.99 USD
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Contributors:

Rodolfo R. Llinas

Publisher:

MIT Press

Binding:

Paperback

Book Category:

Psychology, Science, Medical

Book Subcategory:

Neuropsychology, Life Sciences, Neuroscience

Book Topic:

Human Anatomy & Physiology

Series:

Bradford Book

Audience:

Young Adult

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The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

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Specifications +

Release Date:

2002-02-22

ISBN 13:

9780262621632

Weight:

1.13 lbs

Size:

8.99 x 6.03 x 0.83 inches

Pages:

320

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

A highly original theory of how the mind-brain works, based on the author's study of single neuronal cells.

In I of the Vortex, Rodolfo Llinas, a founding father of modern brain science, presents an original view of the evolution and nature of mind. According to Llinas, the "mindness state" evolved to allow predictive interactions between mobile creatures and their environment. He illustrates the early evolution of mind through a primitive animal called the "sea squirt." The mobile larval form has a brainlike ganglion that receives sensory information about the surrounding environment. As an adult, the sea squirt attaches itself to a stationary object and then digests most of its own brain. This suggests that the nervous system evolved to allow active movement in animals. To move through the environment safely, a creature must anticipate the outcome of each movement on the basis of incoming sensory data. Thus the capacity to predict is most likely the ultimate brain function. One could even say that Self is the centralization of prediction.

At the heart of Llinas's theory is the concept of oscillation. Many neurons possess electrical activity, manifested as oscillating variations in the minute voltages across the cell membrane. On the crests of these oscillations occur larger electrical events that are the basis for neuron-to-neuron communication. Like cicadas chirping in unison, a group of neurons oscillating in phase can resonate with a distant group of neurons. This simultaneity of neuronal activity is the neurobiological root of cognition. Although the internal state that we call the mind is guided by the senses, it is also generated by the oscillations within the brain. Thus, in a certain sense, one could say that reality is not all "out there," but is a kind of virtual reality.

About the Author
Rodolfo R. Llinás is the Thomas and Susanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at the New York University School of Medicine.

I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self

Description

Anatomy 101: From Muscles and Bones to Organs and Systems, Your Guide to How the Human Body Works

Anatomy 101: From Muscles and Bones to Organs and Systems, Your Guide to How the Human Body Works

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