NROC69H3 Lecture Notes - Striatum, Biological Neural Network, Visual Cortex
Document Summary
The human brain has about 100 millions of neurons and each of those neurons connect with 1000-10,000 other neurons through synapses. Therefore, the brain contains about 100 quadrillion synapses and they can produce incalculable number of neuronal ensembles or circuits. By looking at the monkey s visual cortex connections, we can conclude that the brain is highly organized. All neurons are interconnected with each other. Levels of brain organization: behavioral system, interregional system, regional circuits, neurons, synapse, molecule/ion channels, genes. Every neuronal circuit is unique and they can be classified into certain types. These circuits can be found in different brain regions and across different species. Serial organization is when information flows sequentially through different brain structures in series. Example: action potentials encoding from visual field to retina, to thalamus, to primary visual cortex to visual association cortex. Parallel organization is when information is segregated into channels that transmit neuronal information in parallel.
