The human brain is a magnificent machine that can learn, create, and decipher the world around us. The complexity of life is processed by this hard-working unit that sits beneath a few layers of skin and bone in our heads. Similarly to the undiscovered depths of the ocean, the brain has not yet fully been analyzed. What is most ironic is the realization that the brain is studying the brain.
The developed technology to understand the knowledge around the world has vastly improved with time. In reality, though, humans have not been able to keep up with the use of these technological tools, especially for the analysis of the brain. However, one computational biologist, Dr. Mark Albert, has attempted to fit a model to the brain. This difficult task comes with many challenges, seeing that the brain is not a simple computer, as shown in the below picture of an attempted computational layout. Despite the unsuccessful attempt, Dr. Albert has stressed the importance of modeling in neuroscience.
According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, typical meaning of “modeling” is “a system of postulates, data and inferences presented as a mathematical or computational description of an entity or state of affairs.” However, modeling in neuroscience is much more than that and is not limited to analysis papers. According to Dr. Albert, modeling helps to externalize our knowledge. Modeling reveals clarity on a system which then can be used to directly analyze systems, and to create bridges between subjects for a deeper learning and understanding.
A researcher from Washington University practices these exact meanings for modeling in an attempt to create the “first interactive wiring diagram of the living, working human brain.” Dr. Deanna Barch and colleagues execute thousands of brain scans and cognitive, psychological, physical, and genetic assessments to compile specific data for the construction of the human brain. The Human Brain Project’s end goal is to have a “baseline database for structure and activity in a healthy brain that can be cross-referenced with personality traits, cognitive skills, and genetics,” which would be available online for everyone.
This project opens a gateway for other scientists needing a guide for other experimentations and research. For example, Dr. Helen Mayberg, who uses the M.R.I. for her research in the treatment of depression, can effectively execute her surgical technique with the help of this map. Psychologists can also connect specific brain stimulations with behaviors in the growing research of brain and behavior. In general, neuroscientists have an additional resource to explain scientific discoveries to the public.
The Human Brain Project is a wonderful advancement that has taken a grander step than what older works have barely imagined. In 1988, researchers experimented with three-dimensional viewing aids such as the stereo 3-D. The human mind has the unique ability to look at a two-dimensional object, and understand the three-dimensional actuality of the object. The stereo 3-D computationally filled in this three-dimensional activity, basically bringing what the mind has seen in 2-D to a 3-D layout on the computer screen. During this time, this feat was a breakthrough for many companies, research laboratories, and so on. However, this important stepping stone has led to great achievements such as the Human Brain Project.
Ironically enough, the stereo 3-D had to process twice as fast in order to produce what the mind saw. Now, the human mind must catch up with technology. Both of these advancements have computationally defined the brain and its processes, building a better understanding about our working unit. They both are connected in a way that calls for improvement in this type of neurological technology. As time progresses, there will be a better mapping of the brain and its function.
Cited Works:
Gorman, J. (2014, January 06). The Brain, in Exquisite Detail. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/science/the-brain-in-exquisite-detail.html
Jonas, E., & Kording, K. P. (2017). Could a Neuroscientist Understand a Microprocessor? PLOS Computational Biology, 13(1). doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005268
Lewis, P. H. (1988, April 16). 3-D Stereo: Get Out Your Glasses. Retrieved October 17, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/17/business/the-executive-computer-3-d-stereo-get-out-your-glasses.html
Modeling. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2017, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modeling
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