The cortex is filled with excitatory local synapses, but we know little about their role in brain function. New experimental tools, along with ideas from artificial intelligence, are poised to change that.
The Digital Brain platform is capable of simulating spiking neuronal networks at the neuronal scale of the human brain. The platform is used to reproduce blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals in both the resting state and action, thereby predicting the visual evaluation scores.
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Written by @PaulMSutter
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In a new study published in PNAS Nexus, scientists have demonstrated that artificial intelligence can predict different types of human intelligence by analyzing connections in the brain. Using neuroimaging data from hundreds of healthy adults, they found that predictions were most accurate for general intelligence, followed by crystallized intelligence, and then fluid intelligence. The findings shed light on the distributed and dynamic nature of intelligence, demonstrating that it arises from the global interplay of brain networks rather than isolated regions.
While prior research has established that intelligence is not localized to a single brain region but rather involves distributed networks, many studies have relied on traditional methods that focus on isolated brain features. These approaches have offered limited insights into how intelligence arises from the interplay of brain structure and function. By employing machine learning to analyze brain connectivity, the researchers aimed to overcome these limitations.
A key focus of the study was the distinction between three major forms of intelligence: general, fluid, and crystallized. General intelligence, often referred to as “g,” is a broad measure of cognitive ability that encompasses reasoning, problem-solving, and learning across a variety of contexts. It serves as an overarching factor, capturing shared elements between specific cognitive skills.
Research published in Nature has revealed that neural computations in different individuals can be implemented to solve the same decision-making tasks, even when the behavioral outcomes appear identical.
Cognitive flexibility is the ability of a brain to adapt its response to the same external stimulus, like light or sound, based on different contexts. For example, if someone calls your name in a crowded room, you must focus on the sound’s location or the voice characteristics to identify the person. This flexibility in selecting and processing relevant information while ignoring irrelevant information is crucial for survival and effective interaction with our environment.
While previously studied, the individual variability in neural computations yielding the same outcomes is poorly understood and lacks a comprehensive framework. The researchers in the Nature study aimed to understand these mechanisms.
Today I have the pleasure of speaking with a visionary thinker and innovator who’s making waves in the world of artificial intelligence and the future of human health. Dr. Ben Goertzel is the founder and CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized AI platform that aims to democratize access to advanced artificial intelligence. He’s also the mind behind OpenCog, an open-source project dedicated to developing artificial general intelligence, and he’s a key figure at Hanson Robotics, where he helped create the well-known AI robot, Sophia.
Beyond AI, Dr. Goertzel is deeply involved in exploring how technology can enhance human longevity, contributing to initiatives like Rejuve, which aims to leverage AI and blockchain to advance life extension research. With a career that spans cognitive science, AI development, and innovative health tech, Dr. Goertzel is shaping the future in ways that will impact all of us. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Ben Goertzel!
Continue reading “AGI, SingularityNET, Longevity Escape Velocity with Dr. Ben Goertzel” »
Entanglement is perhaps one of the most confusing aspects of quantum mechanics. On its surface, entanglement allows particles to communicate over vast distances instantly, apparently violating the speed of light. But while entangled particles are connected, they don’t necessarily share information between them.
In quantum mechanics, a particle isn’t really a particle. Instead of being a hard, solid, precise point, a particle is really a cloud of fuzzy probabilities, with those probabilities describing where we might find the particle when we go to actually look for it. But until we actually perform a measurement, we can’t exactly know everything we’d like to know about the particle.
Continue reading “Can Entangled Particles Communicate Faster than Light?” »
Slow-wave sleep plays a crucial role in strengthening memory by enhancing synaptic connections in the brain, with new findings suggesting potential methods for boosting memory through targeted stimulation.
For nearly two decades, scientists have known that slow, synchronized electrical waves in the brain during deep sleep play a key role in forming memories. However, the underlying reason remained unclear — until now. In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin propose an explanation. They found that these slow waves make the neocortex, the brain’s long-term memory center, especially receptive to new information. This discovery could pave the way for more effective memory-enhancing treatments in the future.
How Memories Form During Sleep
Aging is an inevitable aspect of life, but age-related diseases are not an inseparable part of the aging process, and their risk can be reduced through a healthy lifestyle. Vitamin K has a broader impact than just blood clotting, and yet it remains overshadowed by other vitamins and underestimated by both doctors and consumers. Vitamin K (VK) is a multifunctional micronutrient with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, whose deficiency may cause age-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and osteoporosis. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the role of vitamin K as a protective nutrient in aging and inflammation. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the molecular aspects of the protective role of vitamin K in aging and age-related diseases and its clinical implications.
New observations show that planets forming in protoplanetary disks like that around PDS 70 can trigger the formation of subsequent planets.
This finding, based on high-resolution images from ALMA, supports the domino effect in the sequential formation of planetary systems.
Discoveries in Multi-Planet Systems.
