AI + neural networks?

[madscijr]

"...does a neuron consult ever bit of memory in our brain & body "database" before it knows how to react?"

That's a good question mascijr. I am not an expert on how the human brain functions but I have read on the matter of human brain neurons. There is an incredible number of them. They transmit elaborate patterns of electrical signals and are interconnected with each other via Dendrites which receive the inputted signals, then fire out a signal via an Axon. I don't think science knows exactly the internal process of the neuron .. it remains a mystery.. however no doubt I am very behind in my reading of the science in this area. I suspect (and likely wrong) that the neurons of the brain are varied in where they get their input. For example, smell, taste, touch all could have specialize neurons which take input solely from the sensors in our nose, tongue and skin. There could be other neurons which are fired when we are thinking or puzzling out an idea. These neurons could very well be taking their input from stored memory (or the brains data base). It would appear a neuron in terms of AI and computer coding, is a very poor representative of the real thing in the brain. It would seem to follow that the level of intelligence for an AI program could be linked to the number of neurons you build. This I believe is why you often see the work Network associated with neurons.

I would think the neurons with different jobs are simply connected to the ones their job requires them to work with. Maybe when the neurons in your fingertips detect that they're touching something, they send the signal up your arm, and the signal includes an "address" so that the connected neurons that pass on the signal know who to route it to? 

I would recommend a book "Destination Void" by Frank Herbert which is about building an articial consciousness using something like a neural net. It isn't the newest book (written in 1966 and revised in 1978) but it has some interesting general ideas for how an artificial consciousness might work...

This all definitely is experimental stuff, so probably try a few different approaches and see what happens...