
Brain works more like Internet than 'top down' company - jamesbritt
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10925841
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ceberly
As a former neuroscience student, it's strange and frustrating to see how old
fashioned ideas can persist so long in academia. The idea that the brain
operates as a connected network is so such an intuitive one it seems almost an
after thought to question why we should study it as such (even if it turns out
to be dead wrong).

And yet for the last 8 years or so, every year, I've read about "new" and
"groundbreaking" research like this, and it never seems to get any traction.

Since I'm no longer in academia I don't know why this is, but I'm guessing its
a widespread phenomenon and I wish it was discussed more openly than it is.

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jamesbritt
One thing that puzzles me about the network model of brains is that, if I
understand it correctly, the brain has considerable hormonal soup flowing
about. So the idea of a discrete system seems wrong; it's very analog, very
messy.

Is this a reasonable impression?

~~~
ceberly
That is a very reasonable impression. Its hard to say at what level the brain
can be broken down into discrete 'events', or whatever you might call them.

Anyway, I'm not opposed to throwing out the network model. I'm just puzzled by
the reluctance to take it seriously, as in serious enough to say "this is how
the brain works". I don't know, maybe chalk it up to reluctance to equate the
brain with a computer. But the so-called "top down" model seems like equating
the brain with a steel mill or something, so I don't know.

