TOWARDS A NON-NETWORK APPROACH TO 'NEURAL MODELING': SOME BASIC ISSUES OF MEASUREMENT, SIMULATION, AND COMPUTATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF BRAIN MAPS.

An approach to neural modeling and to neural computation is outlined that takes a quasicontinuum view of cortical systems and uses the cortical map, rather than the individual neuron, as the basic computational and experimentally observable entity. This allows the simulation of biological processing of early vision using conventional image processing techniques. Methods of computer-aided neuroanatomy, which allow full three-dimensional reconstruction of brain hemispheres as well as the flattened representation of these areas, are discussed. The experimental and computational issues associated with a particular map, that of layer IV of the primary visual cortex, are reviewed. Computer simulations of natural scenes are shown that are mapped at full resolution over wide-angle fields to their representation at the level of the primary visual cortex. The computational significance of cortical mappings is discussed.