Neural Control Engineering ─ The Emerging Intersection Between Control Theory and Neuroscience

Over the past sixty years, powerful methods of model-based control engineering havebeen responsible for such dramatic advances in engineering systems as autolanding aircraft,autonomous vehicles, and even weather forecasting. Over those same decades, our models of thenervous system have evolved from single-cell membranes to neuronal networks to large-scale models ofthe human brain. Yet until recently control theory was completely inapplicable to the types ofnonlinear models being developed in neuroscience. The revolution in nonlinear control engineering inthe late 1990s has made the intersection of control theory and neuroscience possible. In NeuralControl Engineering, Steven Schiff seeks to bridge the two fields, examining the application of newmethods in nonlinear control engineering to neuroscience. After presenting extensive material onformulating computational neuroscience models in a control environment--including some fundamentalsof the algorithms helpful in crossing the divide from intuition to effective application--Schiffexamines a range of applications, including brain-machine interfaces and neural stimulation. Hereports on research that he and his colleagues have undertaken showing that nonlinear control theorymethods can be applied to models of single cells, small neuronal networks, and large-scale networksin disease states of Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. With Neural Control Engineering the readeracquires a working knowledge of the fundamentals of control theory and computational neurosciencesufficient not only to understand the literature in this trandisciplinary area but also to beginworking to advance the field. The book will serve as an essential guide for scientists in eitherbiology or engineering and for physicians who wish to gain expertise in these areas.

Steven J. Schiff, a neurosurgeon, is Brush Chair Professor of Engineering and Director of the Center for Neural Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.