A Spanish company reports that it works for companies with the following principle:
"A model, which works like neurons", "Mimics neurons to predict consumer behaviour".
I leave it to readers to draw conclusions about this offer after reading the following:
The brain is very different from an artificial intelligence.
Communication is carried out by neurons through neuronal synapses that differ widely in terms of the size of the synaptic contact, the identity of the neurotransmitter, the nature of the postsynaptic receptors, the efficiency of transmission, the mechanism used to terminate the action of the transmitter, the degree and modes of synaptic plasticity, and the recycling of the transmitter once its mission is accomplished.
The neurotransmitter receptor structure is made up of thirty proteins, each with different functions. In addition, there are 100 neurotransmitters, modulators, excitatory and braking proteins, and 50 small proteins, neuropeptides.
A car can even be autonomous and sophisticated, but without fuel it goes nowhere. The brain has about two hundred fuel modalities, many of which produce one effect or another depending on the door through which they enter. We can say that the brain functions with the contribution of all its structures, including the arachnoid meninx, which is like the exhaust pipe for toxic waste, which manages part of the immune system and mechanical protection; it also supplies a type of fat that will intervene in the flow of nutrients.
We are talking about a chemical brainWe will not be able to understand in detail the effect, the procedure and the meaning of their actions. We will not enter the electrical brain of instantaneous connection without modification of the sender and receiver, as happens in every action of the chemical brain.
But neurons form a whole by means of their collaborators, auxiliaries, the glial cells, which constitute twice as many as neurons.
"Neuronal synapses differ widely in terms of the size of the synaptic contact, the identity of the neurotransmitter, the nature of the postsynaptic receptors, the efficiency of synaptic transmission, the mechanism used to terminate transmitter action, and the degree and modes of synaptic plasticity. In this way, the properties of neuronal synapses can be tuned to achieve the myriad outcomes that enable our mental and metabolic life." Boron, Walter F. Medical physiology
But it gets complicated because each neuron has different variants of inputs for these transmitter substances. Dopamine, for example, has five kinds of gateways that will produce as many different responses. This neurotransmitter and the rest of the substances that make up the chemical brain add a complexity far removed from believing that the brain functions as networks.
Sensory, motor and cognitive functions that require connections and operations such as falling asleep, waking up, paying attention or varying mood, thinking, fine motor activities, influencing the digestive system, creating, imagining and regulating our metabolic system are a bottomless pit to be understood in future years, as they depend almost exclusively on this chemical gap, this chemical brain.
Thousands of functions derived from neuromodulatory systems that are based in a very ancient brain, the brainstem. Through diffuse networks and their production of dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, we will be motivated, happy or sad, awake or lethargic, they will modulate our life on earth.
We can no longer believe in neuron-to-neuron communication and then networks of neurons and that they are human intelligence and the foundation of the brain, because there is performance outside of networks and direct connections between neurons.
Neuron to neuron yes, but if we include the neuronal microenvironment, the communicational unit: the extracellular fluid in which the arterial capillaries, glial cells and adjacent neurons that at that moment are supposed to have come into action (among other factors that make the work of the brain possible) "swim" (ECCL).
Also outside the neuron-to-neuron action are the concentrations of solutes in the inter-neuronal fluid (ICF) that fluctuate with neuronal activity and, conversely, changes in the composition of the ICF can influence the behaviour of the nerve cell.
Established synapses release transmitter molecules into their extracellular fluid, so that they reach many neurons rather than being confined to the vicinity of a single synaptic cleft, i.e. none of that neuron-to-neuron stuff.
Glial cells, which are not neurons, are twice the size of neurons, also have receptors, windows, for neurotransmitters like neurons themselves, receive neurotransmitters from outside the synapses and process messages received from the fluid inside the cavities of the skull; the cerebrospinal fluid, CSF. They are a component of the transmissions
Therefore, they all work in a chemical environment with no physical connection between them, through the "intermediary", cerebrospinal fluid. This liquid contributes to the modulation of the whole brain function. We would say that it is a factor in our character and other personal qualities through this long-term action, which is involved in appetite, appetite for certain nutrients and other functions.
And, as if that were not enough, apart from networks and synapses, we have to take into account, as part of the cerebral system, the intestinal flora influencing our mind and behaviour; the same can be said of the muscular system, through irisin, which will favour the results of the hippocampus, the centre of working memory and learning, with the improvement of mood and the capacity to concentrate. Where are the networks?
I don't want to overwhelm you, but also the kidney, stomach, liver and pancreas count as participants in the brain orchestra, via substances that pass into the skull.
*The texts reflect the views of the author and are independent of the opinions of PROA.