Video:
Abstract
The human neocortex is the organ of intelligence, responsible for perception, language, and high-level thought. How the neocortex works is considered one of the greatest unsolved scientific challenges. Progress on this problem is expected to lead to advances in AI, disease, education, and robotics.
In this talk I will introduce a framework for understanding how the neocortex works. The framework is based on a type of neuron, called a grid cell, that represents your location in the world. Grid cells exist in an older part of the brain but recent evidence indicates grid cells also exist in the neocortex. This profoundly changes how we think about the neocortex, suggesting a novel framework where everything the neocortex knows is stored in a location-based format and the essential operations of the neocortex involve processing location spaces. I will describe the framework, explain how the mechanisms evolved, and discuss several implications.
About the Human Brain Project Summit Open Day:
The Human Brain Project Summit Open Day, hosted by Maastricht University and the Human Brain Project, is for anyone who wants to learn about the latest developments in brain research. Numenta co-founder Jeff Hawkins will deliver a keynote that covers our latest research developments and their potential implications.
Jeff Hawkins • Co-Founder