Hacker News Reader

Comment by sempron64 | Hacker News Reader

Is this enough to reconstruct the brain for simulation?

No, not even close.

We have a complete map of C. elegans, a small worm with 302(ish) neurons. We have a complete wiring diagram of the adult worm’s neurons as well as a “fate map” showing how those connections form during development.

Nevertheless, it’s fairly hard to simulate. Neuromodulators cause all sorts of “spooky action at (synaptic) distance” that the wiring diagram can’t explain, for example.

Would it require simulating subatomic particles that make the atoms that make the molecules etc.? Might need a quantum computer?

Likely not. It’s more about knowing the connection strengths and the myriad list of neurotransmitters that combine to form complex networks.

to pile on, most impressive "complete mapping" so far is without a doubt the hemibrain connectome which took months and cost ~$50M, for a not quite good enough resolution image of a microscopic brain that was quite dead.

The only interesting question in here so far and also the only one that got a downvote from someone. 4 microns is about the size of the cell body of the smallest neurons so this technique could potentially give you the position of every neuron in the brain but isn't going to pick up the dendrites and synapses. You'd need resolution closer to 10 nanometers for that. 1 micrometer (micron) = 1000 nanometers

Better your brain than mine…

Reply on news.ycombinator.com