1. Decisions, Uncertainty, and the
Brain: The Science of
Neuroeconomics (Bradford Books)
by Paul W. Glimcher
Groundbreaking Thesis
Winner in the category of Medical Science in the 2003
Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented
by the Association of American Publishers, Inc. In this provocative book,
Paul Glimcher argues that economic theory may provide an altern ative to
the classical Cartesian model of the brain and behavior. Glimcher argues
that Cartesian dualism operates from the false premise that the reflex is
able to describe behavior in the real world that animals inhabit. A
mathematically rich cognitive theory, he claims, could solve the most
difficult problems that any environment could present, eliminating the need
for dualism by eliminating the need for a reflex theory. Such a
mathematically rigorous description of the neural processes that connect
sensation and action, he explains, will have its roots in microeconomic

2. theory. Economic theory allows physiologists to define both the optimal
course of action that an animal might select and a mathematical route by
which that optimal solution can be derived. Glimcher outlines what an
economics-based cognitive model might look like and how one would
begin to test it empirically. Along the way, he presents a fascinating history
of neuroscience. He also discusses related questions about determinism,
free will, and the stochastic nature of complex behavior.
Features:
* ISBN13: 9780262572279
* Condition: NEW
* Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Personal Review: Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain: The
Science of Neuroeconomics (Bradford Books) by Paul W.
Glimcher
Offhand one might think that the hybrid neologism "neuroeconomics"
would refer to an interdisciplinary approach to economic theory where
neuroscience contributes a novel insight of some sort. The book's title
reinforces this view, giving top billing to the lexical inducers "decisions" and
"uncertainty" while the word "brain" straggles at list's end. In point of fact,
economics, properly speaking, has little to do with the new discipline's
thematic content. Author Paul Glimcher, a professor and researcher who
heads his own Glimcher Lab at the Center for Neural Science at NYU,
begins this highly readable narrative not with a tale from economics but
with an anecdote from the annals of automata, Jacques de Vaucanson's
mechanical duck (1738), harking back to an epoch when economics had
yet to see the light of day.
The much-ballyhooed duck quickly yields center stage to the star culprit of
the show, its compatriot the polymath René Descartes, who a century
earlier had fused the distinct realms of geometry and alge bra into monistic
analytic geometry --a cornerstone of modern mathematics-- before tearing
asunder body and soul with his idea of physiological dualism. Descartes
held that two categories of behaviors existed: simple behaviors in which
sensory events triggered deterministic motor responses automatically (or
reflexively), and complex behaviors where responses were not entirely
predictable (nondeterministic). An explanation of the latter category,
Descartes believed, required positing the soul as the requisite mechanism
for producing volitional behavior. The former category of fully deterministic
behaviors, where no volition or reasoning was necessary, became known
as reflexes.
Alas, the reflexological paradigm long remained the only game in town for
explanatory purposes and in due course preempted the soul in scientific
discourse. Complex behaviors came to be seen as the product of complex
chains of reflexes, notwithstanding the enormous difficulties of
understanding volition in terms of mindless knee-jerk reactions. Eventually
(the book admirably discusses the details I omit of this intellectual journey),

3. the pioneering computational neuroscientist, David Marr, introduced a
paradigm-shifting approach: the brain as a goal-seeking (i.e., cybernetic)
system.
The second half of the book discusses developments after Marr's untimely
passing. Laboratory experiments of visual-saccadic processing in the
primate brain are amply discussed. Of particular interest, the role of
economics in the newly proposed theory of neurophysiology is duly
presented. According to the book, it boils down to two mathematical
approaches to decision making: Bayesian decision-theoretic modeling,
widely known as decision analysis, and game theory.
Now, decision analysis and game theory are excellent tools for analyzing
economic problems, granted. But they are neither limited to economics nor
did they arise within the confines of that field. They are actually the product
of decision-theoretic mathematics that find application in economics but
also in behavioral ecology, artificial intelligence, the theory of evolution,
strategic management, military science, contemporary philosophy, public
policy analysis, communication network engineering, politics, law, love,
poker tournaments and what have you. On the other hand, standard
economic concepts such as the law of demand, price elasticities, marginal
revenues and costs, inflation, business cycles, market failure and the
principal-agent problem, to mention a mere few, are conspicuously absent.
Why then should economics get the credit?
I would have gone along with Marr's vision and christened the thing
"neurocybernetics," which is, after all, the essence of the new paradigm. It
also dovetails with Vaucanson's duck, which clearly owes nothing to
economics. Aside from that, the book offers a great read in the history and
current developments of neuroscience. If you think neurons are fairly
interesting, you will most likely enjoy this book.
For More 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price:
Decisions, Uncertainty, and the Brain: The Science of Neuroeconomics (Bradford Books)
by Paul W. Glimcher 5 Star Customer Reviews and Lowest Price!