Neuroscience is an emerging field that combines the study of the brain and nervous system with computer science. Computational neuroscience is a subfield of neuroscience that focuses on the development of mathematical models and computational techniques to understand the brain’s function and behavior. By using computational models, researchers can simulate and analyze complex neural systems, helping to uncover the underlying mechanisms of brain function.
Why Am I Interested
I have always been a computer and math person. I love finding ways to describe the world through the programmatic languages of computer programming, but also through mathematical fittings that hope to explain patterns in nature.
However, one thing I have never been good at( or had a desire to be good at, for the matter ), is the natural sciences ( excluding physics, which I love ). Biology and chemistry have always been subjects that I have struggled with, and I have never had a desire to learn more about them, even if they are interesting in ways.
But a question that has always intrigued my mind is the puzzle of our own intelligence. I have been pursuing the field of artificial intelligence for a while now, and I have always been fascinated by the idea of creating a machine that can think and learn like a human. But the question that has always been in the back of my mind is, how do we even understand the human brain in the first place? How do we even begin to understand the complexities of the human mind?
This has always been a neuroscience problem, which, unfortunately, involved a lot of biology and chemistry. And, despite my love for computer science and Artificial Itelligence, I feel as though the field of AI is going in the direction of advanced data science and statistics( which is still very cool! ), rather than the understanding of the human mind.
Until now, where I have started coming across like-minded individuals who are computer scientists and mathematicians, but are also interested in the human mind. And this is where I have come across the field of computational neuroscience.
How I Am Pursuing This Interest
Because I am still in undergrad, and pursuing a major in computer science, there hasnt been a good enough opportunity for me to pursue this interest in a formal setting. However, in my free time I have been relentlessly pursuing this interest through online courses, books, and academic papers. Combining that with my rigorous notetaking and knowledge management system, I hope to build a strong foundation in this field.
Some of the Resources I Have Been Using:
Artem Kirsanov, a computational neuroscientist, has some of the best videos on the subject of computational neuroscience. I have been following his videos and taking notes on them( he also is a big obsidian fan! ).