The massive networks of neurons in our brains produce complex behaviors, like actions and thought. Now physicists want to understand the laws that govern this emergent phenomena.
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The behavior of single neurons is well understood. But put them together into networks and much more significant behaviors emerge, such as sensory perception, memories and thought. The hope is that a statistical or mathematical approach to these systems could reveal the laws of neural physics that describe the bulk behavior of nervous systems and brains.
โIt is an old dream of the physics community to provide a statistical mechanics description for these and other emergent phenomena of life,โ say Leenoy Meshulam at the University of Washington and William Bialek at Princeton University, who have reviewed progress in this area.
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โThese aspirations appear in a new light because of developments in our ability to measure the electrical activity of the brain, sampling thousands of individual neurons simultaneously over hours or days.โ
