BRAIN EMULATION

By Shivangi Upadhyay

Introduction
Brain Emulation is a is the hypothetical process of scanning and mapping a biological brain in detail and copying its state into a computer system or another computational device. The computer would have to run a simulation model so that it would behave in essentially the same way as the original brain, for all practical purposes, indistinguishably.

The Human Brain

The Human brain is the most complex

organ in the human body.

Even with all the development in

medical science in the 21st century, still its working is not fully understood. then, the human cortex has about 22 billion neurons. be 3.2 PB.

If we talk about its performance

Its storage capacity is estimated to

It communicates with an aggregate

bandwidth of 2PB per seconds.

How It Works

Objectives
To recreate a human brain digitally in a

computer system, with its full functionality. Mind uploading i.e. to be able to copy a human beings memories, thoughts etc into the computer system. To expand the capacities of human brain. To create a network of humans and machines.

Implementation
The two basic approaches for brain emulation are :
The first approach says that, we must

understand how biological brains work and then use that knowledge to recreate a human brain in simulation, neuron for neuron, connection for connection. The second approach says that, that we develop technology to do a full-scale emulation of a biological brain by using techniques like scanning, mapping or serial sectioning.

Technologies Involved
Computational Devices :-

The actual computational requirements for running an uploaded human mind are very difficult to quantify, but the processing demands are likely to be immense, due to the large number of neurons in the human brain along with the considerable complexity of each neuron. Hence, a processor with very high processing power is needed. Its projected that with the ongoing development in micro-chips and processors, a significantly fast processor will be available by the year 2025.

Simulation Model Scale :Since the function of the human mind, and how it might arise from the working of the brain's neural network, are poorly understood issues, mind uploading relies on the idea of neural network emulation. Rather than having to understand the high-level psychological processes and large-scale structures of the brain, and model them using classical artificial intelligence methods and cognitive psychology models, the low-level structure of the underlying neural network is captured, mapped and emulated with a computer system. In computer science terminology, rather than analyzing and reverse engineering the behaviour of the algorithms and data structures that resides in the brain, a blueprint of its source code is translated to another programming language.

Brain Imaging :It may also be possible to create functional 3D maps of the brain activity, using advanced neuroimaging technology, such as functional MRI (fMRI, for mapping change in blood flow), Magneto encephalography (MEG, for mapping of electrical currents), or combinations of multiple methods, to build a detailed threedimensional model of the brain. . Today, fMRI is often combined with MEG for creating functional maps of human cortex during more complex cognitive tasks, as the methods complement each other.

Current Situation

Blue Brain Project :- Blue Brain is a project, launched in May 2005 by IBM and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, with the aim to create a computer simulation of a mammalian cortical column, down to the molecular level. The project uses a supercomputer based on IBM's Blue Gene design to simulate the electrical behaviour of neurons based upon their synaptic connectivity and complement of intrinsic membrane currents. They are starting with the central part of the brain, the neo-cortex the part of the brain responsible for learning, memory, language and complex thought. The working model of this part, should be complete within just two years. After that, adjoining brain sections will be added until the entirety is mapped.
Allen Brain Atlas :- Paul Allen, created the $100 million dollar Allen Brain Institute in Seattle, Washington, two years ago. The first explicit goal of the institute was to create an open-access, visual, searchable online map of genes expressed in the brain, as well as of brain circuitry and cell location. Roughly one peta-byte of data-equal to the memory necessary to hold the information held in about 50 Libraries of Congress-will be produced as a result.

Advantages
Immortality/Backup- If the information and processes of the mind can be disassociated from the biological body, they are no longer tied to the individuals lifespan. They can even be stored on several digital storages thereby making humans virtually immortal. Increased Speed- Such a system could potentially think much faster than a human because human neurons exchange electrochemical signals with a max speed of about 150 m/s, whereas the speed of light is about 300 million m/s, about two million times faster. Also, neurons can generate a max of 200-1000 action potentials or "spikes" per second, whereas the number of signals per second in modern computer chips is about 2 GHz. Multiple/parallel existence- With such technology a human being could technically be at more than one place at once, by creating copies of ones elf. Such copies could potentially allow an "individual" to experience many things at once, and later integrate the experiences of all copies into a central mentality at some point in the future.

Conclusion
In the future there could be a variety of ways of creating a brain. This could include :Computer brain simulations. Neuromorphic chips . Stem cells. I think eventually we will be able to replicate a brain fairly well. If not on a computer or neuromorphic chip, then definitely using actual neurons possibly created from stem cells. Sufficiently advanced nanotechnology should allow the precise placement of neurons, dendrites and synapses. With sophisticated brain imaging techniques, this could allow scientists to create an exact replica of someone's brain.