Ever wonder what your brain is up to? There is a dazzlingly theatrical time-lapse clip of neurons in a petri dish recorded over the course of 170 hours that mesmerizes me every time I view it. They light up, bulk up, whisk about and connect with other neurons to form synapses. In concert, their behavior looks like a choreographed dance, all in an effort to create the neural pathways that relay the chemical signals that form conscious experience. The kinetic vibrancy of brain cells busy being brain cells reminds me of one of those vintage street scenes from New York where horse-drawn carriages trudge along, pedestrians jaywalk across the street, small crowds form to stare at the piece of technology documenting it all. We’ve seen this street scene reenacted in Hollywood period dramas, but is it possible to simulate the coordinated biological neural network that constitutes brain activity in silico?

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