Brains are amazing! How did brains evolve? How are they organized?
What sorts of information processing principles do they
implement? How do these principles give rise to adaptive behavior and
intelligence?
This course focuses on understanding the information processing problems that
organisms face in natural environments and how nervous systems have evolved to
solve those problems.
We will explore evolutionary trends and trajectories
leading from single-cell behavior,
to the emergence of nervous systems in multicellular organisms,
to the sophisticated information processing capabilities of vertebrate brains.
We will introduce the use of computer modeling and simulation techiques
for exploring nervous system function and will design simple 'brains' for
artificial creatures in virtual environments!
