Invariants of Behavior

This volume examines current knowledge about the behavioral invariances unearthed by brain research. It shows how place cells, mirror neurons, event-related potentials and areas differentially active in fMRI illustrate the pervasive role of neural invariances.

The study of the brain and behavior is illuminated with the discovery of invariances. Experimental brain research uncovers constancies amidst variation, with respect to interventions and transformations prescribed by experimental paradigms. Place cells, mirror neurons, event related potentials and areas differentially active in fMRI, all illustrate the pervasive role of invariances in neural systems in relation to their function.

1 Invariants of Behavior: Constancy and Variability in Neural Systems and Behavior. - Summary. - Acknowledgements. - Foreword. - Part I Invariants of Behavior. - 2 Introduction. - 3 Invariances in Theory. - 4 Empirical Assessments of Invariance. - 5 Modeling and Invariance. - 6 Dynamical Systems and Convergence. - 7 Neurons, Models and Invariants. - Part II Neurodynamics of Embodied Behavior. - 8 Neurodynamics and Evolutionary Robotics. - 9 Attractor Landscapes in Active Tracking. - Appendix: Learning. - Appendix: Related Work. - References. - 10 Convergent Evolution of Behavioral Function. - 11 Neural Communication: Messages between Modules.