Neural Networks 2006 Call for Papers

[Neural Networks Editorial Office]

   [Apologies if you receive this announcement more than once.]

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CALL FOR PAPERS
2006 Special Issue of Neural Networks
" Neurobiology of Decision Making "
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Co-Editors
Shintaro Funahashi
Matthew Rushworth
Daeyeol Lee

Submission
Deadline for submission: October 31, 2005
Notification of final acceptance: April 30, 2006
Format: as for normal papers in the journal

Address for Papers
Dr. Mitsuo Kawato
ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories
2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan.


Decision making is ubiquitous in our everyday life, and plays a 
central role in transforming a vast complex array of incoming sensory 
stimuli to a meaningful sequence of purposeful actions. Many of these 
decisions have important biological consequences, whereas others may 
appear to have more limited impacts. Regardless of their subjective 
qualities, people and other animals can utilize both external and 
internal cues to single out a choice among many alternatives. Often, 
these choices display features of optimally tuned systems. The neural 
mechanisms that underpin such decision making are currently the 
subject of intense investigations in cognitive and behavioural 
neurosciences.  Furthermore, many of these issues have important 
implications for developing machines designed to make optimal 
decisions in uncertain and dynamic environments. In order to 
understand the process of decision making, researchers are drawing on 
a diverse range of methodologies and theoretical approaches. In some 
cases, behavioural and ecological frameworks are necessary for 
identifying biologically important factors that influence decisions 
in different animals. Game theoretical approaches may be employed 
when decisions are made by several interacting individuals rather 
than isolated individuals acting independently. Neuropsychological 
and neuroimaging studies are useful in revealing which brain areas 
participate in decision making and how the brain works as a whole. 
Neurophysiological studies using animal models are also necessary for 
revealing network mechanisms of decision making within a particular 
brain area. Computational approaches play a critical role in 
integrating the knowledge obtained by empirical studies and may be 
essential for ultimately understanding the neural mechanisms of 
decision making.

This Special Issue will focus on recent advances in the studies of 
decision making, with special emphasis on neural mechanisms and 
computational models of decision making, the influence of emotional, 
motivational, and mnemonic factors on decision making at both 
behavioral and neural network levels, and computational and neural 
network approaches to dynamic neural processes.

Neural Networks Official home page:
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/841/description
Instructions to Authors:
See Guide For Authors in the above web page

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   NEURAL NETWORKS Editorial Office
   ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories
   2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan
   TEL +81-774-95-1204    FAX +81-774-95-1236
   E-MAIL nnrev at atr.jp
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