You Won't Believe This: The Banana Fly's Brain Is Similar to Artificial Intelligence #ai #shorts
1The brain of a fruit fly has been mapped in unprecedented detail by scientists from Norway and the UK. Using an electron microscope, researchers have taken images of the fly brain down to the nanoscale level. The study has revealed how brain cells communicate with each other, with 41% of synapses having multiple connections. This finding is important for understanding how the brain learns. The research also shows that fruit flies have attention, working memory, and a form of consciousness, as discovered when they were tested in a virtual reality environment. A digital model of the fly brain could be used to gain insight into human brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's, by turning off damaged cells to see how communication is affected. The research is a step towards building a foundation of knowledge to better understand the brain. However, the brain constantly changes, so further research is needed to see which connections are general and which are individual or related to specific experiences.
The researchers point out that the way the brain cells communicate with each other in the fly brain bears resemblance to artificial intelligence. Specifically, the presence of multiple connections between nerve cells is essential for the brain to learn and adapt, much like the principle of feedback in artificial intelligence. The digital fly brain model could also provide insight into diseases such as Alzheimer's by allowing researchers to simulate and study the effects of damaged cells in the brain. However, it's important to note that this is just one brain map of a fruit fly at a given time, and more research is needed to fully understand the brain's complexity and variability.