Cian O’Donnell

We're looking for a PhD student (09/23 start) to use computational modelling and deep learning to try to understand how the *physical spatial* arrangement of neurons, synapses & astrocytes contributes to brain learning: https://www.ulster.ac.uk/doctoralcollege/find-a-phd/1455716

(image from https://www.microns-explorer.org/phase1

Discovering the rules of neural learning by computer simulations of brain biophysics and deep neural networks.

Dec 2, 2022 at 2:10pmWeb
Show threadLucCogZestDec 20, 2022
@cian Suzana Herculano-Houzel claimed that a distinctive feature of primate brains is that the scaling rules are different from other mammals, as neurons become numerous, they become smaller. Log-log linear? (I can't remember details). However, I've noticed a few headlines in science daily recently about possible advantages of bigger neurons (eg in those that age better than others, if my aging brain correctly recalls). Anyway, size and space are related.
Show threadLucCogZestDec 20, 2022
@cian I can't help but think of that previously under-praised part of the brain: neocerrebellum and how it packs neurons in.
Show threadCian O’DonnellDec 20, 2022
@LucCogZest that’s a great point and I don’t know of much work comparing how the different levels of space packing in different brain regions (or species) affects circuit function. There might be some eg from Mitya Chklovskii and the late Chuck Stevens on how it constrains possible wiring diagrams?
Show thread@dickretiredDec 20, 2022
@LucCogZest @cian Yes, we do indeed have bigger neurons than other primates, and bigger dendritic trees on the pyramidal cells. But as I explain in my recent book (chapter 9) I don't think that it is these differences that account for the difference in intelligence between us and other primates.
Show threadLucCogZestDec 20, 2022
@dickretired @cian , do you agree with Suzana Herculano-Houzel that it is ultimately the number of cortical neurons that makes the difference?