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SUMMARY:The human brain - a lesson in green technology - Professor Simon L
 aughlin FRS\, Professor of Neurobiology\, Department of Zoology
DTSTART:20151109T180000Z
DTEND:20151109T190000Z
UID:TALK59588@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Beverley Larner
DESCRIPTION:With computers and the internet accounting for more than 10% o
 f global electricity production\, engineers and computer scientists are at
 tempting to design more energy efficient computers and they are turning to
  the brain for inspiration. But how energy efficient is the brain\, how ar
 e its neurons and circuits designed to improve energy efficiency\, and can
  these neural designs be usefully implemented by engineers?\n\nStarting wi
 th the first measurements of a neuron’s energy efficiency\, made almost 
 twenty years ago in the Zoology Department\, I will present principles of 
 neural design that make a brain more efficient. These principles include c
 omputing directly using analogue circuits (as opposed to digital)\, comput
 ing with chemical reactions\, and using parallel circuits designed for spe
 cific tasks. In addition\, like all efficient devices\, the brain matches 
 the energy it uses to the task in hand. This often boils down to doing thi
 ngs as inaccurately and slowly as possible\, where “the as possible” i
 s “just good enough to survive”. The brain’s remarkable ability to a
 dapt its components depends upon its “winning technology”\, molecular 
 and cell biology. Emulating molecular systems that have been honed over mo
 re than a billion years of evolution will be a major challenge for future 
 generations of engineers.\n
LOCATION:Bristol-Myers-Squibb Lecture theatre\, Department of Chemistry
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