Neurona@Home

Neurona@Home is a BOINC-based project with the main aim of simulating the behavior of a large assembly of cellular automata neurons connected in a complex network. Main Facts

• A human brain contains more than 10.000 million neurons with an average of 10.000 synaptic connections projecting from each neuron to other neurons.
• Even the mini-brains of some insects are indeed very complex: Honeybee brains contain around 960.000 neurons which give them astounding memory and behavioral repertoire for their size.
• It is known that the synchronization of the firing of large assemblies of neurons is related to odour discrimination in insects.
• In Humans synchronous oscillations are also present but they are usually related to higher-order functions such as attention, memory and conscious awareness.
• The origin and even the role of these oscillations are still poorly understood.

Model key issues

• We consider a model in which a set of excitatory and inhibitory nodes can activate or deactivate neighbor nodes according to a set of probabilistic rules. The cellular automata neuron is a very simple artifact with only three states: firing, resting or refractory but we are interested in the features of the brain that emerge as a consequence of its complex network structure.
• To this aim we should consider an artificial brain with 1.000.000 neurons, a number that exceeds the typical size of an insect brain.

Our project's simulations of the cellular automata brain in a random network should allow us to understand:

• The emergence of brain oscillations as collective firing.
• The effectiveness of artificial neural networks as discriminant devices.
• The role of the network structure of brains in information processing.

• Website: http://falua.cesfelipesegundo.com/Neurona/
• Join to team: Ukraine

You can contact the researcher in charge for additional information:

• Dr. Javier Villanueva
• Email jvillanueva AT pdi DOT ucm DOT es
• Phone number +34 91 809 92 00 extension 210
• Universidad Complutense de Madrid - CES Felipe II
• Aranjuez - Madrid - Spain

• Initial release: 14 Jun 2011
• Date of completion: <font color="green"><strong>Project is Active</strong></font>

Due to the nature of the network being simulated, this project requires a HUGE amount of RAM, between 3 and 6 Gigabytes per Work Unit, and quite likely this quantity will increase in the next months as the investigation goes further. You will need a suitable 64 bit Linux or Windows PC (due to the RAM requirements there is no 32 bit worker available). Because of this, subscription to this project is made only by invitation code upon request of the volunteer.