i never spoke directly of zeitgeist, as any other ideology it is inherently flawed in itself.
Kevin warwicks project cyborg successfully linked his nerves to his wifes nerves and to a robotic hand,
his research began in 98.
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Several animal brains have been mapped and at least partly simulated.
Simulation of C. elegans roundworm neural system
Brain map of the C. elegans roundworm 302 neurons, interconnected by 5000 synnapses.
The connectivity of the neural circuit for touch sensitivity of the simple C. elegans nematode (roundworm) was mapped in 1985,[23] and partly simulated in 1993.[24] Several software simulation models of the complete neural and muscular system, and to some extent the worm's physical environment, have been presented since 2004, and are in some cases available for downloading.[25] However, we still lack understanding of how the neurons and the connections between them generate the surprisingly complex range of behaviors that are observed in this relatively simple organism.[26][27]
Simulation of Drosophila fruit fly neural system
The brain belonging to the fruit fly Drosophila is also thoroughly studied, and to some extent simulated.[28]
Mouse brain simulation
An artificial neural network described as being "as big and as complex as half of a mouse brain" was run on an IBM blue gene supercomputer by a University of Nevada research team in 2007. A simulated time of one second took ten seconds of computer time. The researchers said they had seen "biologically consistent" nerve impulses flowed through the virtual cortex. However, the simulation lacked the structures seen in real mice brains, and they intend to improve the accuracy of the neuron model.[29]
Blue Brain is a project, launched in May 2005 by IBM and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, with the aim to create a computer simulation of a mammalian cortical column, down to the molecular level.[30] The project uses a supercomputer based on IBM's Blue Gene design to simulate the electrical behavior of neurons based upon their synaptic connectivity and complement of intrinsic membrane currents. The initial goal of the project, completed in December 2006,[31] was the simulation of a rat neocortical column, which can be considered the smallest functional unit of the neocortex (the part of the brain thought to be responsible for higher functions such as conscious thought), containing 10,000 neurons (and 108 synapses). Between 1995 and 2005, Henry Markram mapped the types of neurons and their connections in such a column. In November 2007,[32] the project reported the end of the first phase, delivering a data-driven process for creating, validating, and researching the neocortical column. The project seeks to eventually reveal aspects of human cognition and various psychiatric disorders caused by malfunctioning neurons, such as autism, and to understand how pharmacological agents affect network behavior.
An organization called the Brain Preservation Foundation was founded in 2010 and is offering a Brain Preservation Technology prize to promote exploration of brain preservation technology in service of humanity. The Prize, currently $106,000, will be awarded in two parts, 25% to the first international team to preserve a whole mouse brain, and 75% to the first team to preserve a whole large animal brain in a manner that could also be adopted for humans in a hospital or hospice setting immediately upon clinical death. Ultimately the goal of this prize is to generate a whole brain map which may be used in support of separate efforts to upload and possibly 'reboot' a mind in virtual space.
and i agree its a fledgling technology but before i knew about these specific cases i would barely have thought it possible in the world of today, much of the groundowr is already there in neuroinformatics.
whole brain simulation on wiki
again some of it is a decade old and much have been done since, the newest episode of through the wormhole deals with this exact issue with soe modern perspective and a look at the machine capable of scanning brains
there is even a new set of microchips designed directly to function as a neural net in a single chip.
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//through chaos comes complexity//
the scent of the tamarillo is pungent and powerfull,
woe be to the nose who nears it.
12 Jul 2012, 3:28 am
