From John Anderson
Douglas Fox in writing about “the mind chip” perpetrates the sort of hype that exists in artificial intelligence (AI) research (3 February, p 28). As a neuroscientist, I applaud Kwabena Boahen’s aim of understanding the brain – but to me the approach seems rather misguided.
It assumes that computation in the brain is supported only by chemical synaptic communication between neurons. This doctrine dominates both neuroscience and AI. It is now apparent, however, that cells of the glia – often thought of as the connective tissue of the nervous system – such as astrocytes also have roles in computation. Although we are still in the process of understanding how this works in concert with neuronal networks, the majority of AI research ignores it.
The ways in which glial cells signal (both with each other and with neurons) require different mechanisms from that of neuronal-neuronal communication. This fact is also ignored. There are also many coordinated structural changes that occur with both neuronal dendritic and glial processes that mediate complex communication.
Cardiff, UK
