TL;DR: A network model in Communications Physics (2026) found that Hebbian learning, the familiar “fire together, wire together” rule, trapped activity in old routes, while anti-Hebbian weakening helped activity reach new areas. Key Findings Positive reinforcement trapped activity: when successful activation made the same link more likely to be used again, activity tended to circle …
Electrical neural interfaces are unlocking new possibilities for studying, restoring, and augmenting brain functions. These devices provide direct communication pathways to connect the nervous system with the external world. Recent innovations in neural electrode design, electronics, wireless transmission, integration of electrical and optical modalities, and neural data processing are rapidly advancing the capabilities of electrical …
A 2016 study exploring whether machine learning can accurately predict criminality based solely on facial images has sparked debate on the social implications of such technology. The research, conducted by Chinese academics Xiaolin Wu and Xi Zhang, claims to be the first of its kind in using automated face recognition to categorize criminals versus non-criminals. …
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are rapidly becoming more sophisticated and human-like. This raises an intriguing question: could AI systems one day become conscious? A new interdisciplinary paper explores this complex issue, assessing theories about the neural basis of consciousness and their implications for AI. Key takeaways: Current AI systems are not conscious, but there may …
Researchers have reconstructed a recognizable version of the Pink Floyd song “Another Brick in the Wall” directly from recorded brain activity. Using advanced machine learning techniques, the team was able to extract enough acoustic information from listeners’ brain signals to identify the song and recreate an intelligible version. Key highlights: Researchers recorded brain activity via …
