Cortex and Mind: Unifying Cognition [Hardcover]

Joaquin M. Fuster (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2002

This book presents a unique synthesis of the current neuroscience of cognition by one of the world's authorities in the field. The guiding principle to this synthesis is the tenet that the entirety of our knowledge is encoded by relations, and thus by connections, in neuronal networks of our cerebral cortex. Cognitive networks develop by experience on a base of widely dispersed modular cell assemblies representing elementary sensations and movements. As they develop cognitive networks organize themselves hierarchically by order of complexity or abstraction of their content. Because networks intersect profusely, sharing commong nodes, a neuronal assembly anywhere in the cortex can be part of many networks, and therefore many items of knowledge. All cognitive functions consist of neural transactions within and between cognitive networks. After reviewing the neurobiology and architecture of cortical networks (also named cognits), the author undertakes a systematic study of cortical dynamics in each of the major cognitive functions--perception, memory, attention, language, and intelligence. In this study, he makes use of a large body of evidence from a variety of methodologies, in the brain of the human as well as the nonhuman primate. The outcome of his interdisciplinary endeavor is the emergence of a structural and dynamic order in the cerebral cortex that, though still sketchy and fragmentary, mirrors with remarkable fidelity the order in the human mind.

Editorial Reviews

Review

". . . a remarkable and unique integration of cognitive neuroscience . . . Fuster's ability for compacting the vast domain of cognitive neuroscience into a brief and lucid book is admirable . . . beautifully written and a pleasure to read . . . a singular book." --Contemporary Psychology

"Cortex and Mind by Joaquin Fuster is the best book in the field I have read since Higher Cortical Functions by Alexander Luria. It is a book of similar scope and ambition, but reflecting the Zeitgeist of the beginning of the twenty-first century, rather than that of the middle of the twentieth century. I cannot think of anything of this importance and conceptual clarity written in between. With great clarity, Fuster defines a certain sophisticated understanding of the brain's function, and with great civility, gentility even, he debunks some of the most enduring misconceptions in the field." --JINS

About the Author

Joaquin M. Fuster is at UCLA School of Medicine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 314 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (September 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195147529
• ISBN-13: 978-0195147520
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brain and Mind: Extraordinary New Insights and an Excellent Review of the Problem of Brain, Mind and Cognition, February 13, 2007

By 

Dr. Richard G. Petty (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cortex and Mind: Unifying Cognition (Hardcover)

According to some estimates the sum total of all medical knowledge is doubling every three and a half years, and in neuroscience it is doubling every two years.

It is no surprise that we are seeing a proliferation about the brain, and its relationship to cognition, consciousness and emotion. These books vary enormously, from the arcane at one end to popular overviews at the other. This is an intelligent and well-written book that can be read for pleasure and intellectual stimulation by a scientist as well as the educated non-scientists interested in learning what one prominent neuroscientist has to say about the age-old question about the relationship between the mind and the brain.

One novel idea that Fuster has is of the "Cognit:" a generic term for any representation of knowledge in the cerebral cortex. As he says, "A cognit is an item of knowledge about the world, the self, or the relations between them. Its network structure is made up of elementary representations of perception or action that have been associated with one another by learning or past experience."

But it by no means his only novel idea: the book is full of insights by a prominent scientist who has thought deeply about the fabric of Cognition.

The book follows a logical structure and is broken down into eight chapters and an interesting though not totally convincing Epilogue about consciousness:

1. Introduction; The Problem; Cognitive Networks: Theory; Cognitive Networks: Neuroscience; The Cognit
2. Neurobiology of Cortical Networks; Phylogeny of the Cortex; Ontogeny of the Cortex; Cognitive Network Formation; Extracortical Factors; Basic Structure of Cognitive Networks
3. Functional Architecture of the Cognit; Structure of Knowledge in Connectionist Models; Categories of Knowledge; Cortical Modularity; Cortical Hierarchy of Perceptual Networks; Cortical Hierarchy of Executive Networks; Heterarchical Representation in Association Cortex
4. Perception; Perceptual Categorization; Gestalt; Cortical Dynamics of Perception; Perceptual Binding; Perception-Action Cycle
5. Memory; Formation of Memory; Short-term Memory; Perceptual Memory; Executive Memory; Retrieval of Memory
6. Attention; Biological Roots of Attention; Perceptual Attention; Working Memory; Executive Attention; Set and Expectancy; Execution and Monitoring
7. Language; Neurobiology of Language; Hemispheric Lateralization; Neuropsychology of Language; Functional Architecture of Semantics; Cortical Dynamics of Syntax
8. Intelligence; Development of Intelligence; Reasoning; Problem Solving; Decision Making; Creative Intelligence
Epilogue on Consciousness

The book flows well, and is illumined by a great many diagrams - some in color - and concise references. I know only too well how much work must have gone into its production.

The book is a highly worthwhile contribution to the literature on the brain and the mind, and I recommend it highly, not just to fellow scientists, but to anyone interested in examining a new approach to the relationships between the brain and cognition.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 10, 2011

By 

rodrigo (Washington, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cortex and Mind: Unifying Cognition (Kindle Edition)

I'm just an amateur, apparently Dr Fuster is a leading expert on the cortex and especially the pre-frontal cortex. This book is excellent and really helped me understand how the cortex operates. Highly recommended.