Blog: Brains, Worms, and Computer Chips Have Striking Similarities

Brains, Worms, and Computer Chips Have Striking Similarities
University of California, Santa Barbara (04/22/10) Foulsham, George; Gallessich, Gail

The human brain, computer chips, and the nervous system of a worm share many similarities, according to a new report from an international team of researchers. "Brains are often compared to computers, but apart from the trivial fact that both process information using a complex pattern of connections in a physical space, it has been unclear whether this is more than just a metaphor," says University of California, Santa Barbara's Danielle Bassett. The researchers uncovered novel principles that underlie the network organizations of the human brain, computer circuits, and a worm's nervous system. All three share two basic properties--a Russian doll-like architecture, with the same patterns repeating over and over again at different scales, and a principle known as Rent's scaling, a rule used to describe the relationship between the number of elements in a given area and the number of links between them. Given the similar constraints of brains and chips, it appears that both evolution and technological innovation have arrived at the same solutions to optimal mapping patterns, Bassett says.

View Full Article