
192 Chapter 7 ConneCtionist Models
7.2 BIOLOGICAL NEURONS
The human brain is made up of approximately 10 billion interconnected
neurons. Each neuron is a cell that uses biochemical reactions to receive,
process, and transmit information. Considering the human brain as a whole
would be far too complex, a human neuron (a brain cell) is considered here.
Figure 7.1 shows a single biological neuron (Fraser, 1998). Biological neu-
rons are comparatively less efficient than the personal computer and they
are constantly dying; however, these neurons work in parallel fashion. Each
neuron calculates a local solution, which adds ...