Читать книгу Neurobiology For Dummies - Frank Amthor - Страница 24

Many scientists feel that we only understand a system when we can simulate it. This involves creating an artificial nervous system that simulates some properties of real ones. In robotics, behavior is simulated. A robot may perform some task, like welding in a car factory, that is otherwise done by intelligent humans. The electronic controllers of such robots can involve the use of neuron-like elements called artificial neural nets (ANNs) that emulate biological control systems. However, most controllers are written in standard computer languages using mathematical algorithms that may function quite differently from biological organizations.

Bionics is the field of applying biological principles of operation to man-made devices. An airplane is a bionic derivative of bird flight, which, however, differs in using engines for thrust rather than flapping wings. A recent use of bionics in computation involves devices called memristors that are integrated circuit devices that act like modifiable synapses between neurons. At this point, it’s unclear whether memristors devices will have advantages for computing compared to traditional electronic computation done with transistors. They may, however, become a useful tool for simulating complex nervous systems to understand them.