Neural Darwinism

views updated May 23 2018

Neural Darwinism


Neural Darwinism is a theory of brain development laid out in 1987 by neurobiologist Gerald Edelman (b. 1929). According to this theory, selective forces, both of development and experience, operate on neuronal groups rather than on single neurons. Movement-sensation categories are continually re-categorized, producing maps that interact in ensemble, and establish the coherent temporal patterns of a unified notion of brain. This is an empirically viable neurobiological theory of individuality, about how a person's unique memories, perspectives, and autonomous mental life evolves. The role it may play in a wider theory of consciousness as a kind of "remembered present" is as yet unclear, despite its advantages over other connectionist or neural network models.


See also Neurophysiology; Neuropsychology; Neurosciences


Bibliography

edelman, gerald m. bright air, brilliant fire: on the matter of the mind. new york: basic books, 1992.

john a. teske

Darwinism, Neural

views updated May 18 2018

Darwinism, Neural

See Neural Darwinism