Abstract
This article compiles an expose of Valentino Braitenberg’s singular view on neuroanatomy and neuroscience. The review emphasizes his topologically informed work on neuroanatomy and his dialectics of brain-based explanations of motor behavior. Some of his early ideas on topologically informed neuroanatomy are presented, together with some of his more obscure work on the taxonomy of neural fiber bundles and synaptic arborizations. His functionally informed interpretations of neuroanatomy of the cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus, are introduced. Finally, we will touch on his philosophical views and the inextricable role of function in the explanation of neural behavior.
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This article forms part of a special issue of Biological Cybernetics entitled “Structural Aspects of Biological Cybernetics: Valentino Braitenberg, Neuroanatomy, and Brain Function”.
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Negrello, M. Valentino Braitenberg: From neuroanatomy to behavior and back. Biol Cybern 108, 527–539 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-012-0533-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00422-012-0533-3