Models and theory

Introduction to David Marr's work on levels on description/analysis of the brain as a complex system - computation, algorithm & representation, implementation. Marr's argument that neuroscience needs to start with studying the specific computation a system is trying to achieve, and his postulation that we need to study specific computations rather than "grand theories of the brain". Different flavors of models: 

• descriptive models (what) - often aim to capture a core phenomenon of interest, not all details 
• mechanistic models (how) - how is X implemented at a biophysical level? Challenge to find right level of abstraction. 
• interpretive models (why) - why is the system set up a particular way? What is its role/function?