Connectionists: Computational maps book and software

[James A. Bednar]

We are pleased to announce the publication of the book 

    "Computational Maps in the Visual Cortex"
    by Miikkulainen, Bednar, Choe, and Sirosh
    (New York: Springer).

This book presents a computational approach to understanding how the
map-like structures in the visual cortex develop and adapt to support
visual function. It reviews current theories and biological data, and
presents a detailed analysis of the laterally connected
self-organizing map model (LISSOM) and results obtained to date. The
TOC and a sample chapter, electronic versions of the figures and
references, animated demos, talks, and course material are available
at the book website:

    http://computationalmaps.org

The book was developed together with "Topographica", a general
simulator for computational modeling of cortical maps. Topographica is
intended to serve as a common software tool for the research
community, and is freely available at:

    http://topographica.org

We hope that these tools will be useful in future research on the
computational mechanisms of the visual cortex!

-- Risto, Jim, Yoonsuck, and Joe