16-09-2016, 09:33 AM
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This article is the English version of the Brain Chip hypothesis previously presented in the books “Brain Equation One Plus One (Kinokuniya, 2001)” and “Plus Alpha (Kinokuniya,
2002).” The concept in this article has been translated into English by the author himself in response to an overwhelming number of requests from colleagues outside Japan.
Introduction
There is no doubt of the essential role of discrete neuronal networks in brain function. Nevertheless, models of brain function based on neuronal networks alone fail to answer the various fundamental questions of how the brain works, such as, “What is the neuronal substrate of consciousness?“, or “Why do anesthetic effects diminish at higher atmospheric pressure?”, or “How can purely endogenous processes be initiated?” These are but a few examples of as yet unsatisfactorily addressed questions. In spite of concerted effort by preeminent neuroscientists, no single complete theory of brain function explaining these phenomenologies has been offered. This void strongly suggests that there is a missing link in the current fundamental concept of how the brain works.
This apparent impasse in neuroscience has recently been surmounted by the Vortex Theory, which effectively links all important phenomenologies into a single fundamental concept of the brain’s functional organization (1). The theory is firmly based on biological and anatomical reality, essential considerations for any biological hypothesis. This manuscript is
an introduction to the fundamental architectural unit of the association cortex in the Vortex Theory, namely, the brain chip.
Developments
Research on synaptic plasticity in the cerebellum has dramatically advanced the concept of brain function. The discovery of learning neurons confirmed the existence of the biological counterpart of Perceptron, an artificial neuron in the field of neural net and, in turn, provided virtual proof for the concept that, similar to artificial neural net, diverse functionality of the brain can be constructed based on a single functional unit. The concept of cerebellar learning was further refined by the identification of a physiologic biological functional unit, namely, the cerebellar chip (2).
A simplified representation of the cerebellar chip is given in Figure 1. The chip is organized around a single output neuron, the Purkinje cell. Information reaching the cerebellum is first processed by many, so termed, pre-processing neurons such as granular cells. The output of these pre-processing neurons reaches the Purkinje cells via the parallel fibers which form synaptic connections with dendrites of the Purkinje cells. Transmission efficacy of the synapses between parallel fibers and the Purkinje cells is modifiable, forming the basis of synaptic plasticity, and provides the biologic substrate of the cerebellar learning processes. The role of transmission efficacy in the learning process is analogous to the
variable weights in the learning process of the McCulloch and Pitts neuron
This article is the English version of the Brain Chip hypothesis previously presented in the books “Brain Equation One Plus One (Kinokuniya, 2001)” and “Plus Alpha (Kinokuniya,
2002).” The concept in this article has been translated into English by the author himself in response to an overwhelming number of requests from colleagues outside Japan.
Introduction
There is no doubt of the essential role of discrete neuronal networks in brain function. Nevertheless, models of brain function based on neuronal networks alone fail to answer the various fundamental questions of how the brain works, such as, “What is the neuronal substrate of consciousness?“, or “Why do anesthetic effects diminish at higher atmospheric pressure?”, or “How can purely endogenous processes be initiated?” These are but a few examples of as yet unsatisfactorily addressed questions. In spite of concerted effort by preeminent neuroscientists, no single complete theory of brain function explaining these phenomenologies has been offered. This void strongly suggests that there is a missing link in the current fundamental concept of how the brain works.
This apparent impasse in neuroscience has recently been surmounted by the Vortex Theory, which effectively links all important phenomenologies into a single fundamental concept of the brain’s functional organization (1). The theory is firmly based on biological and anatomical reality, essential considerations for any biological hypothesis. This manuscript is
an introduction to the fundamental architectural unit of the association cortex in the Vortex Theory, namely, the brain chip.
Developments
Research on synaptic plasticity in the cerebellum has dramatically advanced the concept of brain function. The discovery of learning neurons confirmed the existence of the biological counterpart of Perceptron, an artificial neuron in the field of neural net and, in turn, provided virtual proof for the concept that, similar to artificial neural net, diverse functionality of the brain can be constructed based on a single functional unit. The concept of cerebellar learning was further refined by the identification of a physiologic biological functional unit, namely, the cerebellar chip (2).
A simplified representation of the cerebellar chip is given in Figure 1. The chip is organized around a single output neuron, the Purkinje cell. Information reaching the cerebellum is first processed by many, so termed, pre-processing neurons such as granular cells. The output of these pre-processing neurons reaches the Purkinje cells via the parallel fibers which form synaptic connections with dendrites of the Purkinje cells. Transmission efficacy of the synapses between parallel fibers and the Purkinje cells is modifiable, forming the basis of synaptic plasticity, and provides the biologic substrate of the cerebellar learning processes. The role of transmission efficacy in the learning process is analogous to the
variable weights in the learning process of the McCulloch and Pitts neuron