The articles gathered in this volume represent examples of a unique approach to the study of mental phenomena: a blend of theory and experiment, informed not just by easily measurable laboratory data but also by human introspection. Subjects such as approach and avoidance, desire and fear, and novelty and habit are studied as natural events that may not exactly correspond to, but at least correlate with, some (known or unknown) electrical and chemical events in the brain.

The second published collection based on a conference sponsored by the Metroplex Institute for Neural Dynamics -- the first is Motivation, Emotion, and Goal Direction in Neural Networks (LEA, 1992) -- this book addresses the controversy between symbolicist artificial intelligence and neural network theory. A particular issue is how well neural networks -- well established for statistical pattern matching -- can perform the higher cognitive functions that are more often associated with symbolic approaches. This controversy has a long history, but recently erupted with arguments against...

This text addresses the symbolicist artificial intelligence and neural network theory. It explores the issue that neural networks can perform higher cognitive functions often associated with symbolic approaches, as well as outlining the history and theoretical structures of the controversy.

This book is the fourth in a series based on conferences sponsored by the Metroplex Institute for Neural Dynamics (MIND), an interdisciplinary organization of Dallas-Fort Worth area neural network professionals in both academia and industry. This topic was chosen as the focus for this special issue because of the increasing interest by neuroscientists and psychologists in both rhythmic and chaotic activity patterns observed in the nervous system.

Neither the mathematical structure of neural oscillations nor their functional significance is precisely understood. There are a great many...