In Major Find, Scientists Catch Nerve Cells Send Information in The Wrong Direction
19 MAY 2021
The point at which our nerve cells meet to share information was thought to be a one-way street, with electrochemical signals strictly flowing from one neuron s sending axons to the next neuron s receiving dendrites.
Now, for the first time, researchers have shown that information can also flow in the opposite direction at the neuron intersection we call a synapse. Once again, exact measurements have shown that reality is more complex than a simplified model would suggest, said cellular neuroscientist Peter Jonas from Austria s Institute of Science and Technology (IST).
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For all its comparisons to the human brain, AI still isn’t much like us. Maybe that’s alright. In the animal kingdom, brains come in all shapes and sizes. So, in a new machine learning approach, engineers did away with the human brain and all its beautiful complexity turning instead to the brain of a lowly worm for inspiration.
Turns out, simplicity has its benefits. The resulting neural network is efficient, transparent, and here’s the kicker: It’s a lifelong learner.
Whereas most machine learning algorithms can’t hone their skills beyond an initial training period, the researchers say the new approach, called a liquid neural network, has a kind of built-in “neuroplasticity.” That is, as it goes about its work say, in the future, maybe driving a car or directing a robot it can learn from experience and adjust its connections on the fly.