The Blue Brain Project is a project to simulate the human brain using a super computer. This project holds the promise to give us insights into the function and malfunction of the brain. To learn more watch the video.
For more reading, check out this blog post:
Brain Stimulant: Blue Brain Shows Gamma Oscillations
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Years ago I was close to this type of work. Over the years I drifted away from it. One of the things that struck me in those days and even today is that we seem to have lost the old Analog Computer analogies. That is, computers based upon Differential Amplifiers and circuits. At that time and today, it seemed as if a hybrid system would be highly effective for modeling the brain. That is, use a digital computer to set up the analog chips, 1000’s of differential amplifiers per chip, sort of one per brain cell or neuron. And then just feed the Analog Computer the inputs to be studied. The advantage of a system like this appears to be the instantaneous response of the brain model and the simplification that eliminates or reduces the need for synchronizing communication between the brain cell avatars.