EE 129

Part I C NN:
Brainlike Computing and Attractors

Part II C omplexity:
Cellular Automata, Chaos, and Fractals

Part III Memristors:

From Non-Volatile Memories to
Brainlike Learning
New Discipline
 Part I

Brainlike Computing and Attractors

 Part II

Cellular Automata, Chaos, and Fractals

 Part III

From Non-Volatile Memories

to Brainlike Learning
 Pluto : The Missing Planet

Based on the irregularities in the orbit

of Neptune, the 8th planet, Percival Lowell
predicted in 1905 that there is a missing
planet, which he named Planet X, yet to
be discovered.
This planet was subsequently found in
February 18, 1930 by Clyde W. Tombaugh,
and later renamed Pluto, the Roman god of
the underworld.
 New Neurons in Adult Brains ?

New neurons can be generated in two regions

of the adult mamalian brain:
1. The hippocampus
2. The cerebral subventricular zone (SVZ)
of olfactory bulbs.
 Most Neurons are formed
Before Birth

• Most of our 10 billions neurons are generated

in the first 4 months of gestation.
• Many brain regions initially overpoduce neurons
and the surplus dies during the maturation
process
• At various times during the gestation period
more than 500,000 neurons are generated
per minute !
 Glucose and Brain Activity
Glucose is the primary energy source for neurons:
the more active a neuron is, the more glucose it uses.
• Glucose utilization in newborns is largely limited to the brain stem
and certain subcortical structures, very little utilization of glucose
was observed in the cortex itself, indicating relatively low neuronal
activity there.
• By two or three months of age, glucose utilization increases
significantly in some cortical areas, specially in the occipital cortex,
which is involved in visual processing and perception.
• Glucose utilization increases through early childhood and peaks
between four and seven years of age (about twice the level
in the adult brain). This relates to the enormous synaptic plasticity
of the brain of the early ages.
 Dendrites and Synapses
• More than 80 percent of total dendritic growth occurs after birth.
• Most synaptic contacts from the axon of a neuron are made on the
dendrites of other neurons.
• There is an enormous increase in the total numbers of synapses,
not only prenatally, but also postnatally up to at least age 2.
• There is a substantial rearrangement and pruning of synapses during
brain development and growth: many synapses are added,
and many others are lost.
• Throughout life, our brains are being changed by our experiences
(i.e. learning) and these changes are reflected in the synaptic
circuitry of the brain.