Dr. Mohammad Anbari, a fellow and postdoctoral researcher in artificial intelligence, has collaborated with researchers to create a comprehensive map of the nervous system of an adult male fruit fly. This map includes over 166,000 neurons and approximately 125 million synaptic connections, presented for the first time on a large scale.
Complex Architecture of the Nervous System
To understand the brain, merely counting the neurons is not enough. Dr. Anbari emphasizes that the main issue in neuroscience is the architecture of connections. Which neuron is connected to which neuron and where these connections are located in circuits is of particular importance. Additionally, a change in a single connection can have a significant impact on the overall network's function.
Read more: Starlink and Iran's Governance Challenges in the Digital Space
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Data Analysis
Despite the importance of the neural connection map, a complete understanding of brain function requires combining structural information with data on neural activity, genetics, behavior, and environment. In this regard, artificial intelligence plays a vital role. This technology helps researchers extract meaningful patterns from vast amounts of data.
In similar projects, millions of high-resolution images of neural tissue are produced, and the structure of cells is delineated. This volume of information requires advanced tools like artificial intelligence to facilitate the discovery of patterns and connections. In fact, AI can show researchers where things are and identify connections between neurons.
Can we one day reverse-engineer the brain like a complex engineering system? The answer to this question is still uncertain, but Dr. Anbari believes that the research pathway is changing. New technologies have enabled movement towards larger networks, and artificial intelligence provides researchers with the necessary tools to analyze this vast data.
The structural map of the connectome can be combined with machine learning models and neural simulations, leading to the creation of a "digital neural twin." This computational model can represent the structure and part of the behavior of a real nervous system.
The significance of this achievement is not limited to neuroscience; artificial intelligence is gradually becoming one of the research tools in biology, genetics, and medicine.
Read more: The Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Australia's Healthcare System and Anthony Albanese's Criticisms · The Absence of OpenAI in the Nvidia Coalition to Tame Rogue AI
