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It's simply a matter of scaling this slice-scan-render technique up to the entirety of a human brain to simulate human thinking, correct? What're the biggest te

It's simply a matter of scaling this slice-scan-render technique up to the entirety of a human brain to simulate human thinking, correct? What're the biggest technological hurdles left?

danielmorozoff 5y ago
pretty much everything. Connectome != functional understanding of the brain. We have had c elegans ( worm) and more recently fly connectomes for years. we are still struggling to understand basic logic encodings in those animal models. Imho we lack a foundational understanding of the logic encoding mechanisms in the brain. Many neuroscientists/ computer scientists are working on this problem, but to my knowledge we are still not there.
mementomorti 5y ago
My understanding of this is that the connectome itself wouldn't be sufficient to simulate human thinking. If I understand correctly the connectome would basically be a map of each neuron to its connections, somewhat like a wiring diagram. However, I've heard that it's more realistic to regard each neuron as being more like a computer rather than a wire. Neurons have a lot of state to be accounted for, for example methylated groups controlling the expression of DNA and the resulting amounts and types of various receptors which would influence their control.
hyperpallium2 5y ago
Seems we can't yet simulate a 302 neuron worm brain (C. elegans) despite having its connectome, so not correct. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenWorm https://wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenWorm
- londons_explore 5y ago
  Do all of these worms use exactly 302 neurons for locomotion? Or is 302 just the number found in a specific worm that was disected?
  - hoseja 5y ago
    Specifically 302. Each worm has the same brain, down to the cell.
dx7tnt 5y ago
api 5y ago
Photographing a bird doesn’t automatically tell you how to fly. It does give you some hints though.
mattkrause 5y ago
There are interactions that the wiring diagram doesn't account for. For example, some neurons release "neuromodulators" that diffuse beyond their immediate synaptic partners. Electric fields produced by a fiber bundle can affect activity in neighboring neurons. Inside the cell, there are all kinds of processes on short (millisecond) and long (day) timescales that alter how the same neuron responds to identical stimuli.

It's simply a matter of scaling this slice-scan-render technique up to the entirety of a human brain to simulate human thinking, correct? What're the biggest technological hurdles left?

danielmorozoff 5y ago

pretty much everything. Connectome != functional understanding of the brain. We have had c elegans ( worm) and more recently fly connectomes for years. we are still struggling to understand basic logic encodings in those animal models. Imho we lack a foundational understanding of the logic encoding mechanisms in the brain. Many neuroscientists/ computer scientists are working on this problem, but to my knowledge we are still not there.

mementomorti 5y ago

My understanding of this is that the connectome itself wouldn't be sufficient to simulate human thinking. If I understand correctly the connectome would basically be a map of each neuron to its connections, somewhat like a wiring diagram. However, I've heard that it's more realistic to regard each neuron as being more like a computer rather than a wire. Neurons have a lot of state to be accounted for, for example methylated groups controlling the expression of DNA and the resulting amounts and types of various receptors which would influence their control.

hyperpallium2 5y ago

Seems we can't yet simulate a 302 neuron worm brain (C. elegans) despite having its connectome, so not correct. https://wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenWorm https://wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenWorm

londons_explore 5y ago
Do all of these worms use exactly 302 neurons for locomotion? Or is 302 just the number found in a specific worm that was disected?
- hoseja 5y ago
  Specifically 302. Each worm has the same brain, down to the cell.

dx7tnt 5y ago

api 5y ago

Photographing a bird doesn’t automatically tell you how to fly. It does give you some hints though.

mattkrause 5y ago

There are interactions that the wiring diagram doesn't account for. For example, some neurons release "neuromodulators" that diffuse beyond their immediate synaptic partners. Electric fields produced by a fiber bundle can affect activity in neighboring neurons. Inside the cell, there are all kinds of processes on short (millisecond) and long (day) timescales that alter how the same neuron responds to identical stimuli.