Nerve, Brain and Memory Models Edited by N. Wiener and J. P. Schadé (review)

So it is to be expected that the ultimate value ofthe various contributions to this book will vary a great deal. Careful selection, however, has ensured that all the papers are well worthwhile because they stimulate reflection, show how creative genius works—for all contributors have the credential ofhaving made important experimental contributions to science—and provide absorbing reading matter. H. A. Krebs University ofOxford Nerve, Brain and Memory Modeh (Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 2). Edited by N. Wiener andJ. P. Schade. New York: Elsevier Pub. Co., 1963. Pp. viii-|-28o. $15.00. It can be argued that ifwe are ever going to understand our own brains it will have to be withinthe framework ofa mathematical model. This is probably true, but at thepresent time the mathematics upon which such a model must be based has yet to be invented. This book is a collection oftwenty papers by a group ofspecialists who are concerned with the attempt to construct a useful formal model for the work ofthe nervous system. In its present stage ofdevelopment, this concern finds itselflimited to the elaboration ofa public language and the statement ofa set ofproblems to be solved. The papers were presented at a conference on cybernetics of the nervous system held in Amsterdam in April, 1962. The major interest at this conference was simulation ofthe mechanics and outputs ofthe nervous system. This is perhaps one reason why there is so little emphasis on the biology, biochemistry, and biophysics ofthe brain. Most ofthe participants are well known to those who work in cybernetics or mathematical biology. In dealing with the brain, we are like the men in Plato's cave, watching shadows on the wall. This book is highly recommended for those who think they are outside thb cave and somewhere in the sun. D. Agin University ofChicago 252 Book Reviews Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Winter 1964 ...