
Biophysics of Computation
Information processing in single neurons
Christof Koch(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 2. December 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
588 pages
978-0-19-518199-9 (ISBN)
Description
Neural network research often builds on the fiction that neurons are simple linear threshold units, completely neglecting the highly dynamic and complex nature of synapses, dendrites, and voltage-dependent ionic currents. Biophysics of Computation: Information processing in single neurons challenges this notion, using richly detailed experimental and theoretical findings from cellular biophysics to explain the repertoire of computational functions available to single neurons. The author shows how individual nerve cells can multiply, integrate, or delay synaptic inputs and how information can be encoded in the voltage across the membrane, in the intracellular calcium concentration, or in the timing of individual spikes.
Key topics covered include the linear cable equation; cable theory as applied to passive dendritic trees and dendritic spines; chemical and electrical synapses and how to treat them from a computational point of view; nonlinear interactions of synaptic input in passive and active dendritic trees; the Hodgkin-Huxley model of action potential generation and propagation; phase space analysis; linking stochastic ionic channels to membrane-dependent currents; calcium- and potassium-currents and their role in information processing; the role of diffusion, buffering and binding of calcium, and other messenger systems in information processing and storage; short- and long-term models of synaptic plasticity; simplified models of single cells; stochastic aspects of neuronal firing; the nature of the neuronal code; and unconventional models of sub-cellular computation.
This book serves as an ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in cellular biophysics, computational neuroscience, and neural networks, and will appeal to students and professionals in neuroscience, electrical and computer engineering, and physics.
Key topics covered include the linear cable equation; cable theory as applied to passive dendritic trees and dendritic spines; chemical and electrical synapses and how to treat them from a computational point of view; nonlinear interactions of synaptic input in passive and active dendritic trees; the Hodgkin-Huxley model of action potential generation and propagation; phase space analysis; linking stochastic ionic channels to membrane-dependent currents; calcium- and potassium-currents and their role in information processing; the role of diffusion, buffering and binding of calcium, and other messenger systems in information processing and storage; short- and long-term models of synaptic plasticity; simplified models of single cells; stochastic aspects of neuronal firing; the nature of the neuronal code; and unconventional models of sub-cellular computation.
This book serves as an ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in cellular biophysics, computational neuroscience, and neural networks, and will appeal to students and professionals in neuroscience, electrical and computer engineering, and physics.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
This book serves as an ideal text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in cellular biophysics, computational neuroscience, and neural networks, and will appeal to students and professionals in neuroscience, electrical and computer engineering, and physics.
Illustrations
5 halftones and numerous line figures
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
881 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-518199-9 (9780195181999)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2004
1st Edition
OUP USA
€72.49
Available for download

E-Book
10/2004
1st Edition
OUP USA
€72.49
Available for download
Person
(Professor of Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, USA)
Author
Professor of Computation and Neural SystemsProfessor of Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology, USA
Content
1. The membrane equation ; 2. Linear cable theory ; 3. Passive dendritic trees ; 4. Synaptic input ; 5. Synaptic interactions in a passive dendritic tree ; 6. The Hodgkin-Huxley model of action-potential generation ; 7. Phase space analysis of neuronal excitability ; 8. Ionic channels ; 9. Beyond Hodgkin and Huxley: calcium, and calcium-dependent potassium currents ; 10. Linearizing voltage-dependent currents ; 11. Diffusion, buffering, and binding ; 12. Dendritic spines ; 13. Synaptic plasticity ; 14. Simplified models of individual neurons ; 15. Stochastic models of single cells ; 16. Bursting cells ; 17. Input resistance, time constants, and spike initiation ; 18. Synaptic input to a passive tree ; 19. Voltage-dependent events in the dendritic tree ; 20. Unconventional coupling ; 21. Computing with neurons - a summary