Human brain information processing

Concomitantly with the increase in hardware capabilities, better software techniques will have to be developed. It will pay us to continue to learn how nature tackles problems. Artificial neural networks are a far cry away from the capabilities of the human brain. There is a lot of room left from the information processing of the human brain in order to develop more powerful artificial neural networks. Nature has developed over millions of years efficient optimization methods for adapting to changes in the environment. The development of evolutionary and genetic algorithms will continue. 

Named for the bones of the cranium under which they lie, the lobes are conspicuously defined by prominent sulci of the cortex, which have a relatively constant position in human brains. Each lobe is specialized for different activities (see Figure 6.3). Located in the anterior portions of the hemispheres, the frontal lobes are responsible for voluntary motor activity, speaking ability, and higher intellectual activities. The parietal lobes, which are posterior to the frontal lobes, process and integrate sensory information. The occipital lobes, located in the posterior-most aspects of the cerebrum, process visual information, and the temporal lobes, located laterally, process auditory information. 

A description of the nervous system probabiy best starts with its basic functionai unit, the neuron (figure 2.1). Neurons have many features in common with other ceiis of the body, but there are two that make them unique. They are abie to conduct eiectrochemicai impuises and they are connected in networks suited for information processing. Their iink to the senses and motor effectors aiiows us to monitor and operate in the environment. The aduit human brain is estimated to contain 1011 neurons, and each may synapse with 10,000 other neurons. Despite some common core features, neurons are very heterogeneous in their morphoiogy, with thousands of variants. The foiiowing are components of the neuron. 

Information processing in the human brain via neuro-chemically defined neuronal systems is complex. Therefore, it remains a challenge to conceptualize psychiatric disorders and their treatment in a reductionistic framework of chemical neuroanatomy. We can nonetheless broadly state that the anatomic organization of neurotransmitter systems determines their behavioral affiliation, and that receptors modulate the electrical or biochemical properties of neurons, with direct relevance to the mechanism of action of psychotropic drugs. Future research will provide more detailed information on the subtypes of neurons and specific neurotransmitters systems that are abnormal in psychiatric disorders, and provide a more rational approach to the development of new treatment interventions. 

Halliday R, Gregory K, Naylor H, et al Beyond drug effects and dependent variables the use of the Poisson-Erlang model to assess the effects of d-amphetamine on information processing. Acta Psychologica 73 35-54, 1990 Hallman M, Bry K, Hoppu K, et al Inositol supplementation in premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome. N Engl J Med 326 1233-1239, 1992 Hamik A, Peroutka S MCPP interaction with neurotransmitter receptors in human brain. Biol Psychiatry 25 569-575, 1989... 

The taste sensor will be applicable for quality control in food industry and help automation of the production. The sense of taste is vague and largely depends on subjective factors of human feelings. If we compare the standard index measured by means of the taste sensor with the sensory evaluation, we will be able to assess taste objectively. Moreover, the mechanism of information processing of taste in the brain as well as the reception at taste cells will also be clarified by developing a taste sensor which has output similar to that of the biological gustatory system. 

Usually, when a person looks at a surface he or she can tell very easily whether an abnormality is present. The human brain notes a difference from a pattern seen previously, or from information perceived about surrounding areas. The technology for processing images is a substantiation of these activities, the... 

There are approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain. Neurons have wire-like processes called axons, which transmit information away from the cell, and processes called dendrites, which receive information from other cells. A single neuron s axon can transmit information to other cells over long distances (even four feet), while other neurons may transmit information short distances to neighboring cells. Axon endings make contacts on the cell bodies or dendrites of other neurons. The cell body is the part of the cell containing the nucleus. Neurons can have highly branched dendrites, on which axons from other cells can terminate, forming a synapse, where information can be communicated from one cell to the other. 

McCrimmon RJ, Deary IJ, Huntly BJP, MacLeod KJ, Frier BM 1996 Visual information processing during controlled hypoglycaemia in humans. Brain 119 1277-1287 Morris GL, Alcorn MB 1995 Raven s progressive matrices and inspection time P200 slope correlates. Pers Individ Differ 18 81-87... 

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