Do we know how to gather information about the state (in Computer Science terms) of a given neuron? IOW, can we determine what other neurons it is connected to, how strong those connections are, etc.?
Thanks,
Rob
Do you mean real-time? There are researchers that figure out connections (I think they are using imaging), and they can see individual connections being strengthened, but a neuron’s state and it’s connections’ weights are so complex (due to chemicals and electrical fields both internal and external) that knowing it’s state in any kind of real-time and accurate terms is probably science-fiction right now.
I didn’t mean in real-time necessarily, I just meant can they get really fine-grained data down to the individual neuron and, if it changes over time, map that change? That is, can they get a snapshot irrespective of how long it takes to develop it? The reason I ask is that I wonder if it ever might be possible to restore the brain function of someone who suffered a brain injury like a stroke or trauma. If they could replace the dead neurons and new what their state was before the accident, could they reset them to that state, effecting a sort of mental “do-over”?
Thanks,
Rob
Neurons can be stained and mapped in vitro. Of course that requires that the subject be dead. Techniques such as MRI do not have the spatial resolution to resolve small enough for a neuron (or even close). Using radioactive tracers can allow you to see where it ends up when certain cognitive activities occur. Also, single cell recording can be used to measure two different neurons and see time differences that might indicate cause/effect. The subject can be alive here, but it usually considered unethical in humans unless they are already under surgery. Most neurons rest at -70mV resting potential and max out at +40mV peak when activity occurs.
A common theory (Hebbian) of neurons as that they will “prune” themselves as learning occurs. Putting in a ton of new neurons and many may “die,” this is normal, but no easy task.