Sean Noah, Author at Knowing Neurons

Book Review: Remembering

April 10, 2019April 9, 2019 Sean Noah 0 Comments Amnesia, Book Review, Brain Books, Donald G MacKay, Epilepsy, Frederic Bartlett, Henry Molaison, Hippocampus, Medial temporal lobe, Memory, Patient HM, Psychology, synaptic

In the early 20th century, Cambridge psychologist Frederic Bartlett radically reformulated the concept of memory. Until then the classical view, the earliest form of which could be traced back to… Read more

Brain Basics Consciousness Neuro Primer

Neuro Primer: Attention

May 31, 2018March 3, 2019 Sean Noah 3 Comments Attention, Brain, Brain Basics, Consciousness, Focus, Perception, Vision

magine suffering through a 2pm class on a sweltering day in early June. Summer’s almost arrived, and it’s hard not to let your mind wander away from the dull information… Read more

Artificial Intelligence Big Ideas

Machine Yearning: The Rise of Thoughtful Machines

April 11, 2018March 3, 2019 Sean Noah 1 Comment Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Neural Networks, Hidden Layers, Introspection, Machine Learning, Thoughtful Machines

n the mid twentieth century, artificial intelligence researchers invented a new type of computational system that could detect patterns in images – a daunting task for previous technology. Because this… Read more

Brain Basics Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Sleep

The inescapable nightmare of fatal familial insomnia

October 31, 2017October 31, 2017 Sean Noah 1 Comment Brain, Cortex, Disease, Disorders, Fatal Familial Insomnia, FFI, Genetics, Insomnia, Molecular neuroscience, Neuroscience, Prions, Psychiatry, Sleep, Sleep disorders

A family curse During the early 1980’s, an Italian physician was investigating a mysterious and dreadful disease that had long plagued his family. In earlier generations, this disease had killed… Read more

Neuroscience Technologies Sensation and Perception

Neuromorphic Engineering: Biomimicry from the Brain

August 16, 2017August 16, 2017 Sean Noah 13 Comments Analog, Biomimicry, Brain, Chips, Circuits, Computer, Digital, Engineering, Neuromorphic, Neurons, Sensors, Silicon, Transistors

hat is the brain? Researchers conceive of neurons as information processing units, meaning that the circuits formed by neurons support logical and mathematical operations. In this view, the brain is… Read more