Then there's the mystery of the developing brain. How does something so complex manage to build itself? The Allen Institute is also measuring genetic expression in the mouse brain, from embryo to adult, to explore how the orchestra of genes is switched on and off in different areas during development. Which snippets of DNA transform the hippocampus into a center of long-term memory? Which make the amygdala a warehouse of fear and anxiety? "One of the things I've come to appreciate about the brain is the importance of location," Allen says. "It's not just a set of interchangeable parts that you can swap in and out. These brain areas are all so distinct, and for reasons we can finally begin to understand."
One unexpected—even disheartening—aspect of the Allen Institute's effort is that although its scientists have barely begun their work, early data sets have already demonstrated that the flesh in our head is far more complicated than anyone previously imagined.
The brain might look homogenous to the naked eye, but it's actually filled with an array of cell types, each of which expresses a distinct set of genes depending on its precise location. Consider the neocortex, the so-called CPU of the brain: Scientists assumed for decades that most cortical circuits were essentially the same—the brain was supposed to rely on a standard set of microchips, like a typical supercomputer. But the atlas has revealed a startling genetic diversity; different slabs of cortex are defined by entirely different sets of genes. The supercomputer analogy needs to be permanently retired.
Read More http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_brainatlas?currentPage=5#ixzz10RZv3R5E
also if you are interested in memory system in the brain, for example difference between remember and record, hierarchy of information caching and information abstraction. spatial and temporal pattern exploration and learning.
read more at http://www.numenta.com/ , they have been doing many interesting research in this areas.
No comments:
Post a Comment