Neural Models of Plasticity: Experimental and Theoretical Approaches

By: John H. Byrne, William O. Berry

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Synopsis: Neural Models of Plasticity: Experimental and Theoretical Approaches is an outgrowth of a conference that was held at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in the spring of 1987. The purpose of that conference was to review recent developments in both areas and to foster communication between those researchers pursuing theoretical approaches and those pursuing more empirical approaches. Contributions have been solicited from individuals who represent both ends of the spectrum of approaches as well as those using a combination of the two. These indicate that our knowledge of the plastic capabilities of the nervous system is accelerating rapidly due to rapid advances in the understanding of basic subcellular and molecular mechanisms of plasticity, and because of the computational capabilities and plastic properties that emerge from neural networks and assemblies. The book contains 19 chapters and opens with a study on the role of the neuromodulator in associative learning of the marine mollusk Hermissend. Subsequent chapters examine topics such as learning and memory in Aplysia; the Hebb rule for synaptic plasticity; olfactory processing and associative memory in the mollusk Limax maximus; simulation of a classically conditioned response; and the neural substrates of memory, focusing on the role of the hippocampus.