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The free-energy principle explains the brain

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The Riken Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan, along with colleagues, has shown that the free-energy principle can explain how neural networks are optimized for efficiency.

Published in the scientific journal Communications Biology, the study first shows how the free-energy principle is the basis for any neural network that minimizes energy cost. Then, as proof-of-concept, it shows how an energy minimizing neural network can solve mazes.

This finding will be useful for analyzing impaired brain function in thought disorders as well as for generating optimized neural networks for artificial intelligences. [Read more…] about The free-energy principle explains the brain

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  • Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discover
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How the brain’s blue spot helps us focus our attention

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The neurotransmitter noradrenaline regulates our brain’s sensitivity to relevant information

How can we shift from a state of inattentiveness to one of highest attention? The locus coeruleus, literally the “blue spot,” is a tiny cluster of cells at the base of the brain. As the main source of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline, it helps us control our attentional focus.

Synthesizing evidence from animal and human studies, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Southern California have now developed a novel framework describing the way the blue spot regulates our brain’s sensitivity to relevant information in situations requiring attention.

Their findings have been published in an opinion article in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. [Read more…] about How the brain’s blue spot helps us focus our attention

Deep learning model classifies brain tumors with single MRI scan

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A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have developed a deep learning model that is capable of classifying a brain tumor as one of six common types using a single 3D MRI scan, according to a study published in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence.

“This is the first study to address the most common intracranial tumors and to directly determine the tumor class or the absence of tumor from a 3D MRI volume,” said Satrajit Chakrabarty, M.S., a doctoral student under the direction of Aristeidis Sotiras, Ph.D., and Daniel Marcus, Ph.D., in Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology’s Computational Imaging Lab at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. [Read more…] about Deep learning model classifies brain tumors with single MRI scan

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Satellite map of human pressure on land provides insight on sustainable development

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The coronavirus pandemic has led researchers to switch gears or temporarily abandon projects due to health protocols or not being able to travel. But for Patrick Keys and Elizabeth Barnes, husband and wife scientists at Colorado State University, this past year led to a productive research collaboration.

They teamed up with Neil Carter, assistant professor at the University of Michigan, on a paper published in Environmental Research Letters that outlines a satellite-based map of human pressure on lands around the world.

Keys, lead author and a research scientist in CSU’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability, said the team used machine learning to produce the map, which reveals where abrupt changes in the landscape have taken place around the world. The map shows a near-present snapshot of effects from deforestation, mining, expanding road networks, urbanization and increasing agriculture. [Read more…] about Satellite map of human pressure on land provides insight on sustainable development

Physicists develop theoretical model for neural activity of mouse brain

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The dynamics of the neural activity of a mouse brain behave in a peculiar, unexpected way that can be theoretically modeled without any fine tuning, suggests a new paper by physicists at Emory University. Physical Review Letters published the research, which adds to the evidence that theoretical physics frameworks may aid in the understanding of large-scale brain activity.

“Our theoretical model agrees with previous experimental work on the brains of mice to a few percent accuracy – a degree which is highly unusual for living systems,” says Ilya Nemenman, Emory professor of physics and biology and senior author of the paper.

The first author is Mia Morrell, who did the research for her honors thesis as an Emory senior majoring in physics. She graduated from Emory last year and is now in a post-baccalaureate physics program at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. [Read more…] about Physicists develop theoretical model for neural activity of mouse brain

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Tiny machine poised to unlock brain’s mysteries

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A team of scientists, led by researchers at Northwestern University, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), has developed novel technology promising to increase understanding of how brains develop, and offer answers on repairing brains in the wake of neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases.

Their research is the first to combine the most sophisticated 3-D bioelectronic systems with highly advanced 3-D human neural cultures. The goal is to enable precise studies of how human brain circuits develop and repair themselves in vitro. The study is the cover story for the March 19 issue of Science Advances.

The cortical spheroids used in the study, akin to “mini-brains,” were derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells. Leveraging a 3-D neural interface system that the team developed, scientists were able to create a “mini laboratory in a dish” specifically tailored to study the mini-brains and collect different types of data simultaneously. Scientists incorporated electrodes to record electrical activity. [Read more…] about Tiny machine poised to unlock brain’s mysteries

Artificial Intelligence beats us in chess, but not in memory

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In the last decades, Artificial Intelligence has shown to be very good at achieving exceptional goals in several fields. Chess is one of them: in 1996, for the first time, the computer Deep Blue beat a human player, chess champion Garry Kasparov.

A new piece of research shows now that the brain strategy for storing memories may lead to imperfect memories, but in turn, allows it to store more memories, and with less hassle than AI. The new study, carried out by SISSA scientists in collaboration with Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience & Centre for Neural Computation, Trondheim, Norway, has just been published in Physical Review Letters.

Neural networks, real or artificial, learn by tweaking the connections between neurons. Making them stronger or weaker, some neurons become more active, some less, until a pattern of activity emerges. This pattern is what we call “a memory”. The AI strategy is to use complex long algorithms, which iteratively tune and optimize the connections. [Read more…] about Artificial Intelligence beats us in chess, but not in memory

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A neural network learns when it should not be trusted

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Increasingly, artificial intelligence systems known as deep learning neural networks are used to inform decisions vital to human health and safety, such as in autonomous driving or medical diagnosis.

These networks are good at recognizing patterns in large, complex datasets to aid in decision-making. But how do we know they’re correct? Alexander Amini and his colleagues at MIT and Harvard University wanted to find out.

They’ve developed a quick way for a neural network to crunch data, and output not just a prediction but also the model’s confidence level based on the quality of the available data. The advance might save lives, as deep learning is already being deployed in the real world today. [Read more…] about A neural network learns when it should not be trusted

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Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discover

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BGU’s multidisciplinary team’s findings, published in the journal NeuroImage, support a prevalent neural theory that people with an increased neural response to seeing and smelling food consistently overeat and gain weight. [Read more…] about Keeping weight off is up to your brain, not just willpower, Ben-Gurion U researchers discover

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  • The free-energy principle explains the brain
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New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligence

by

Artificial intelligence has arrived in our everyday lives – from search engines to self-driving cars. This has to do with the enormous computing power that has become available in recent years. 

But new results from AI research now show that simpler, smaller neural networks can be used to solve certain tasks even better, more efficiently, and more reliably than ever before.

An international research team from TU Wien (Vienna), IST Austria and MIT (USA) has developed a new artificial intelligence system based on the brains of tiny animals, such as threadworms. [Read more…] about New deep learning models: Fewer neurons, more intelligence

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    A neural network learns when it should not be trustedIncreasingly, artificial intelligence systems known as deep learning neural networks are used to inform decisions vital to human health and safety, such as in autonomous driving or medical diagnosis. These networks are good at recognizing patterns in large, complex datasets to aid in decision-making. But how do we know they're…
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  • Physicists develop theoretical model for neural activity of mouse brain
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    Physicists develop theoretical model for neural activity of mouse brainThe dynamics of the neural activity of a mouse brain behave in a peculiar, unexpected way that can be theoretically modeled without any fine tuning, suggests a new paper by physicists at Emory University. Physical Review Letters published the research, which adds to the evidence that theoretical physics frameworks may…
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  • The free-energy principle explains the brain
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    The free-energy principle explains the brainThe Riken Center for Brain Science (CBS) in Japan, along with colleagues, has shown that the free-energy principle can explain how neural networks are optimized for efficiency. Published in the scientific journal Communications Biology, the study first shows how the free-energy principle is the basis for any neural network that…
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  • Singapore university wins best paper at AAAI conference on artificial intelligence
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