A boat of glass and steel [Back Story]
IEEE Spectrum May 29, 2017 DOI: 10.1109/mspec.2017.7934212 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | News report Peer reviewed |
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| Key points | Koch states that the number of nerve cell types in the human brain is unknown, saying 'We don't know' and 'Probably thousands,' but suggests an answer is coming soon. He oversees a staff of more than 300 people at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, where some are producing a complete catalog of the brain's neuron types. |
Abstract
How many types of nerve cells are in the human brain? "We don't know," says Christof Koch. "Probably thousands." We'll have an answer soon, thanks in part to Koch, who with Giulio Tononi wrote "Can We Quantify Machine Consciousness?," in this issue. As president and chief scientific officer of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, in Seattle, Koch oversees a staff of more then 300 people, some of whom are now producing a complete catalog of the many kinds of neurons in the brain. Koch [above], well known for his work in the field of consciousness, took the helm of the Brain Science institute after spending nearly three decades as a professor of both biology and engineering at the California Institute of Technology. So he was very familiar with how basic research gets done at universities.