The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain where almost all of the mental capabilities that distinguish humans from other animals are based. Understanding how it works is vital to the progress in many areas of medicine and science, including the development of more efficient and flexible neural networks. Although extensive research has been carried out over the last 150 years, very little real progress has been made. This book provides a unique overview of work by key researchers, and shows how current research can be used to develop and improve computational models for neural networks.