Barcoding brains
asimov.press
Barcoding brains
1–5 of 5 posts
Re: Barcoding brains
#2Highly recommended to check out the worm simulation they mention: https://openworm.org/
I wonder at what level of simulation complexity do we have to worry about any pain the simulations may be experiencing?
If you simulate a brain, assuming you do it well enough, you’ll start getting into ethical concerns.
Re: Barcoding brains
#3Highly recommended to check out the worm simulation they mention: https://openworm.org/ I wonder at what level of simulation complexity do we have to worry about any pain the simulations may be experiencing? If you simulate a brain, assuming you do it well enough, you’ll start getting into ethical concerns.
Presumably you'd follow the same regulations regarding actual animals in testing regarding inflicting pain or distress. Usually IRB's weigh whether the scientific results offset the risk of harm and emphasize minimizing pain (doing things under anesthesia, providing analgesia, or not letting animals regain consciousness). The ethical bars you have to clear get higher the "higher" the animal you use.
If you're doing it via simulation, physical pain issues become a lot easier to fix and more over you can probably simulate subsections of the brain rather than the whole thing. You can also limit simulation time to prevent perception of harm, and you can arbitrarily limit negative feedback in the whole simulation (stress hormones, etc).
I would also imagine one should act conservatively to the question of whether you should treat a simulated "thing" humanely.
Re: Barcoding brains
#4tangential - brain "word map" https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00069-1 (link to the interactive model there https://gallantlab.org/viewer-huth-2016/ )
Re: Barcoding brains
#5>scientists hope to better understand how neural circuitry dictates and predicts the activity of individual neurons
Not circuitry. This is a metaphor which has passed its sell-by-date. It obscures rather than enlightens.