Using maths, physics to model brain

Nov 28, 2012 |

Age Correspondent

Hyderabad

Brain research now gets a mathematical touch. With biologists not keen on “modelling” the brain, mathematicians and physicists have stepped in to find answers to basic questions like how the brain learns, makes and stores memories.
Though biologists have studied certain functions of the brain, they are still clueless about how the brain stores memories and recalls them when needed. This is because there is no mathematical modelling of the brain which will help, among other things, in finding answers to a number of complex issues related to the brain including diseases like Alzhe-imer’s and Parkinson’s.
“Mathematical modelling is central to building theories (understanding of mechanisms) for natural phenomena. Our aim is to understand the mechanisms involved in various functions of the brain so that we can understand why certain disorders happen in the brain, and then work towards finding their remedies and corrections,” said Dr Vipin Srivastava, Professor at the School of Physics, and the Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences (CNCS), University of Hyderabad.
Dr Srivastava is holding the first-ever school (training programme) on computational and theoretical neuroscience in the city from December 5 to 21, to train young scientists in mathematical and computational skills, which will lead them to fundamental research in neuroscience.
The training programme will also touch on issues like brain disorders and neuroprosthesis.

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