title: [The Meaning of "Understanding the Brain": Peeking into the Brain of a Computational Neuroscientist].
abstract: What does "understanding the brain" mean? Here, I review how computational neuroscience, a theoretical approach to the brain, can aid our understanding of the brain. First, I illustrate the study of reinforcement learning and dopamine neurons and argue its success in the light of Marr's three levels of computation. Second, I discuss how Marr's program has led to a computational understanding of the brain, and present computational models of the motor cortex and of a spiking neural network as illustrative examples.
authors.affiliation: Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D009488:Neurosciences; D012106:Research