The Major Options

Abstract

Given the argument and evidence that the operating principle of nervous systems is to generate neural associations on a wholly empirical basis, it makes sense to compare this framework with other ideas that neuroscientists have proposed for understanding brain function. These concepts fall into several broad categories: (1) neural operation based on detecting, computing, and representing stimulus features as such; (2) neural computation and representation based on statistical inferences about physical reality; and (3) neural operation based on efficient and/or predictive coding. Another concept pertinent to all these ideas, including neural operation as empirical association, is whether nervous systems are carrying out computations. This section reviews these conceptual options and some implications that follow.