Information Processing In The Nervous System

In recent years, several symposia have been held on subjects relating to the general theme of information processing in the nervous system. It is now widely recognized that this whole field is rapidly developing and changing in a manner beyond our imaginings of a few years ago. When confronted with conceptual revolutions of this kind, it is justifiable to have a continued on-going discourse and disputation so that there is maximum opportunity for interaction between the leaders of thought in all the re­ lated disciplines. The conference organized by K. N. Leibovic, and held at the State University of New York at Buffalo from October 21st to 24th, 1968, made a notable contribution to this interaction. It is fortunate that there is here being published, not only the papers contributed to the sym­ posium, but also much of the stimulating discussion. The term "neuronal machinery" can be validly used because there is now good understanding of the operational mechanisms of at least some of the neuronal centers in the brain, and our knowledge of these mechanisms is progressing in a most encouraging manner. The stated objective by Prof. Leibovic, the organizer of the symposium, was that it was designed to cor­ relate neuronal machinery with psychophysiological phenomena. He calls attention to the urgency of achieving a common conceptual basis for neuro­ anatomy, neurophysiology, and psychology.