Brain from Inside Out

The outside-in approach to studying the brain has limitations, as it assumes causation and concepts that may not hold for systems that act and react. György Buzsáki's The Brain from Inside Out suggests that the brain should be understood as a foretelling device that interacts with its environment through action and cognition, and that it is not an information-absorbing coding device but a venture-seeking explorer that creates information.

Format: Hardback
Length: 424 pages
Publication date: 11 July 2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

The study of neural reactions to stimuli presented by an experimenter is a common approach in brain research, following the empiricist's tradition. This outside-in method has fueled a generation of research, but it must confront hidden assumptions about causation and concepts that may not hold neatly for systems that act and react.

György Buzsáki's The Brain from Inside Out examines why the outside-in framework for understanding brain function has become stagnant and points to new directions for understanding neural function. Building upon the success of his 2011 book Rhythms of the Brain, Professor Buzsáki presents the brain as a foretelling device that interacts with its environment through action and the examination of its consequences.

Consider that our brains are initially filled with nonsense patterns, all of which are gibberish until grounded by action-based interactions. By matching these nonsense words to the outcomes of action, they acquire meaning. Once its circuits are calibrated by action and experience, the brain can disengage from its sensors and actuators and examine what happens if scenarios by peeking into its own computation, a process that we refer to as cognition.

The Brain from Inside Out explains why our brain is not an information-absorbing coding device, as it is often portrayed, but a venture-seeking explorer constantly controlling the body to test hypotheses. Our brain does not process information; it creates it.

Weight: 794g
Dimension: 238 x 170 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780190905385