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Models of the Mind: How Physics, Engineering and Mathematics Have Shaped Our Understanding of the Brain Hardcover – May 4, 2021

by Grace Lindsay (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 201 ratings
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Grace Lindsay reveals the value of describing the machinery of neuroscience using the elegant language of mathematics.

The brain is made up of 85 billion neurons, which are connected by over 100 trillion synapses. For over a century, a diverse array of researchers have been trying to find a language that can be used to capture the essence of what these neurons do and how they communicate – and how those communications create thoughts, perceptions and actions. The language they were looking for was mathematics, and we would not be able to understand the brain as we do today without it.

In Models of the Mind, author and computational neuroscientist Grace Lindsay explains how mathematical models have allowed scientists to understand and describe many of the brain's processes, including decision-making, sensory processing, quantifying memory, and more. She introduces readers to the most important concepts in modern neuroscience, and highlights the tensions that arise when bringing the abstract world of mathematical modelling into contact with the messy details of biology.

Each chapter focuses on mathematical tools that have been applied in a particular area of neuroscience, progressing from the simplest building block of the brain – the individual neuron – through to circuits of interacting neurons, whole brain areas and even the behaviors that brains command. Throughout Grace will look at the history of the field, starting with experiments done on neurons in frog legs at the turn of the twentieth century and building to the large models of artificial neural networks that form the basis of modern artificial intelligence. She demonstrates the value of describing the machinery of neuroscience using the elegant language of mathematics, and reveals in full the remarkable fruits of this endeavor.

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  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloomsbury Sigma
  4. Publication date
    May 4, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    6.02 x 1.39 x 8.72 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1472966422
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1472966421
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Grace Lindsay provides a masterful tour of this important frontier, tackling intimidating topics with verve and wit.” - Sean Carroll

“This is a remarkable book … an excellent introduction to an area that few of us probably know anything about, and all the more fascinating because of that.” - Popular Science

“Models of the Mind is a grand tour through the history of computational neuroscience, from its humble beginnings in information theory and neuron structure up to its modern manifestations harnessing supercomputers to run large scale convolutional neural networks that model important brain systems.” - Women You Should Know

“The book is not only wide-ranging in its choice of topics but is also a lively journey through the history of these efforts and traces the lives of the eccentric and fascinating scientists who were instrumental in figuring out the brain’s working by using tools ranging from information theory and graph theory to Bayesian modeling and neural networks.” - 3 Quarks Daily

“‘Enthralling, erudite and accessible … an engrossing history of science and an enlightening guide to neuroscience’s current frontiers.’” - Liam Drew, Neurobiologist and author of I, Mammal: The Story of What Makes Us Mammals

“‘This book is an anthology of the scientific poetry that has illuminated our studies and conceptions of the brain.’” - Professor Larry Abbott, Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University

About the Author

Grace Lindsay is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and Data Science at New York University.

After completing her PhD in 2018 at the Center for Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University, she went on to a postdoctoral fellowship at University College London, where her research focused on building mathematical models exploring sensory processing. Before that, she earned a bachelor's degree in Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh, and received a research fellowship to study at the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience in Freiburg, Germany. She was awarded a Google PhD Fellowship in Computational Neuroscience in 2016 and has spoken at several international conferences.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Sigma (May 4, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1472966422
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1472966421
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.13 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 1.39 x 8.72 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 201 ratings

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Grace Lindsay

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
201 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Doug D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Work in Progress
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2023
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No one should start reading this book thinking there will be a final equation at the end of the book that explains everything. This field is very much a work in progress.

Having said that, the author does a great job explaining progress to date: The author explains how the brain works, from chemistry, to individual neurons, to groups of neurons to the brain as a whole. Although "mathematics" is in the title, a reader does not need to be able to solve a partial differential equation to understand the material. And, it is full of great tidbits of knowledge, like memory is not stored in neurons (neurons either fire or don't fire based on their inputs per a simple equation), memory is stored in the strength of the synapses between neurons.

The only problem I noticed was not with this book, but the blinders that the scientists seem to have. They seem to be ignoring millennia of experience about human consciousness that has been documented. Great thinkers like Plato and Buddha, and more recently B.K.S. Iyengar and Thich Nhat Hanh, have been explaining how consciousness works from a human perspective for a very long time. But, the scientists described in this book seem to be starting from scratch, exploring consciousness in a much more shallow way, almost like how a thermostat is aware. I believe, if scientists are going to understand human consciousness, they need to explore biology of what these great thinkers describe as real/deep consciousness, rather than what they have described as superficial consciousness. I read a book by Giulio Tononi (cited in this book) and came to the same conclusion. Let's get below the surface.
One person found this helpful
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Gordon Silverman
4.0 out of 5 stars A tour of cognitive science
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2021
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A very readable discussion of the cosmic issues confronting our understanding of the mind. I will take two picky issues with what I thought were omitted from an otherwise perfect discussion: Keffer Hartline’s work on lateral inhibition (that won him a Nobel) and the neglect of significant instruments such as the negative capacitance amplifier that permitted physiologists to truly “see” the neuron. An excellent reference.
11 people found this helpful
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GIDMEISTER
5.0 out of 5 stars A good overview of models of the brain - very well written
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2021
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The book is a good overview of the existing modeling approaches to the brain. The author almost avoids writing down a single equation! The details about the various scientists involved are also very interesting. And the author is a very clear writer. I think the book is a good jumping off point for people who want to delve into the field.
10 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars As a CS and Math undergraduate, extremely enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2022
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I am an undergraduate student of math and CS, interested in AI and the brain. Very informative and understandable to me. A new favorite.
5 people found this helpful
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Justin Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Great review of major discoveries in computational neuroscience
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021
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Great review of major discoveries in computational neuroscience
3 people found this helpful
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Flatfive
3.0 out of 5 stars paperback is cheaply printed
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2024
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I've only just started the book, and I like the content a lot so far. This review is about print quality of the paperback version.

The copy I received is printed on low-quality paper, similar to newsprint, making it hard to read. You can also notice the low quality when holding the book -- it's very light.
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Levi
5.0 out of 5 stars Complex ideas distilled effectively
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2023
Really enjoyed this book. The author is quite skilled at extracting the essence of complex theories, and communicating them with examples and analogies. The book is a good mix of stories about influential characters, and the work and models they produced. No scary math needed.
2 people found this helpful
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Jason
2.0 out of 5 stars Was hoping it had more substance than it did
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2021
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Was hoping this book was gonna be more about deriving a mathematical theory of the mind, however it was more of a history lesson of different tools used in model building like little bios of the people that invented the techniques instead of going over in detail how they worked. Was also expecting the author to share an attempt to model something about the brain but nope. Disappointed
22 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good introduction to computational neuroscience
Reviewed in Canada on December 21, 2023
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....
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Geronimo Ordoñez
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for starters.
Reviewed in Mexico on September 5, 2023
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I'm a mechatronics engineer getting specialized on neural sciences. I say this to all STEM people who want to dive into the neuro world: this is the way.
One person found this helpful
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Romy Froemer
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book on Computational neuroscience
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 18, 2023
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This is a very approachable and fun to read overview of computational neuroscience, it’s inspirational origins and it’s interconnections with other fields. Very much enjoyed it!
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Peter
5.0 out of 5 stars A very clear journey through the history of modelling the brain
Reviewed in Italy on October 27, 2023
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Il libro affronta in maniera chiara le tappe nello sviluppo di modelli per capire il funzionamento del cervello.
Il linguaggio usato è abbastanza semplice e può essere letto anche da non esperti di neuroscience. Personalmente, ho trovato estremamente interessanti alcuni passaggi del libro. Lo consiglio vivamente a chi è interessato ad approfondire la nostra attuale comprensione del cervello animale.
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Joseph Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book - covers all the essential developments
Reviewed in India on May 4, 2023
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Want to know more about computational neuroscience in a relatively non-technical and historical way? Then this is your go-to book for sure! Lindsay has done the field a great service! Wish this book was around when I pursued my MSc degree in this particular area more than a decade ago.
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