Nanoneuroscience
Author | : Nancy J. Woolf |
Publisher | : Springer Science & Business Media |
Total Pages | : 290 |
Release | : 2009-12-04 |
ISBN-10 | : 9783642035845 |
ISBN-13 | : 3642035841 |
Rating | : 4/5 (45 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Nanoneuroscience is the study of computationally relevant biomolecules found inside neurons. Because of recent technological advances at the nanometer scale, scientists have at their disposal increasingly better ways to study the brain and the biophysics of its molecules. This book describes how biomolecules contribute to the operations of synapses and perform other computationally relevant functions inside dendrites. These biomolecular operations considerably expand the brain-computer analogy - endowing each neuron with the processing power of a silicon-based multiprocessor. Amazingly, the brain contains hundreds of billions of neurons.