Principles of Computational Modelling in Neuroscience

This book is about how to construct and use computational models of specific parts of the nervous system, such as a neuron, a part of a neuron or a network of neurons, as well as their measurable signals. It is designed to be read by people from a wide range of backgrounds from the neurobiological, physical and computational sciences. The word ‘model’ can mean different things in different disciplines, and even researchers in the same field may disagree on the nuances of its meaning. For example, to biologists, this term can mean ‘animal model’. In particle physics, the ‘standard model’ is a step towards a complete theory of fundamental particles and interactions. We therefore attempt to clarify what we mean by modelling and computational models in the context of neuroscience. We discuss what might be called the philosophy of modelling: general issues in computational modelling that recur throughout the book.