I guess what I’m getting at though is, if we can’t point at something & say, “This is an association. It weighs 5 grams & consumes 0.5% of the brain’s energy”, then how do we quantify an association? Are we referring to behavior? A subjective feeling? A concept? What?
Think of it as an inter-connexion of neurones and neurites (dendrites and axonal fibers). When an association is created, concepts become related.
We have yet to be able to pin down a specific neurone cell body, or a small cluster of neurones, and say, “This neurone contains the face of Bob, and this cluster of neurones stores Bob’s name and data on how you know him.”
You can look into connectionist models of how neurones operate if interested.
Personally I think the models aren’t an accurate representation of cortical processes—though they might have helped in the recent Blue Brain results. The models are accurate to an extent, but I do not think them comprehensive enough to adequately describe, and then predict, all cortical processes. Again, that is just personal speculation.
Thanks for the thorough reply.
I guess what I’m getting at though is, if we can’t point at something & say, “This is an association. It weighs 5 grams & consumes 0.5% of the brain’s energy”, then how do we quantify an association? Are we referring to behavior? A subjective feeling? A concept? What?
Think of it as an inter-connexion of neurones and neurites (dendrites and axonal fibers). When an association is created, concepts become related.
We have yet to be able to pin down a specific neurone cell body, or a small cluster of neurones, and say, “This neurone contains the face of Bob, and this cluster of neurones stores Bob’s name and data on how you know him.”
You can look into connectionist models of how neurones operate if interested.
Personally I think the models aren’t an accurate representation of cortical processes—though they might have helped in the recent Blue Brain results. The models are accurate to an extent, but I do not think them comprehensive enough to adequately describe, and then predict, all cortical processes. Again, that is just personal speculation.