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| Research article summary (published 29 Sep 2002): |
Genealogy of the "grandmother cell".
Full Abstract
A "grandmother cell" is a hypothetical neuron that responds only to a highly complex, specific, and meaningful stimulus, such as the image of one's grandmother. The term originated in a parable Jerry Lettvin told in 1967. A similar concept had been systematically developed a few years earlier by Jerzy Konorski who called such cells "gnostic" units. This essay discusses the origin, influence, and current status of these terms and of the alternative view that complex stimuli are represented by the pattern of firing across ensembles of neurons.
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Author information
Author/s: Gross, Charles G (CG);
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Princeton University, New Jersey 08544, USA. cggross@princeton.edu
Grants: EY11347 (Agency:United States NEI)
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Biography; Historical Article; Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Journal: The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry (Neuroscientist), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-Oct; vol 8 (issue 5) : pp 512-8
Dates: Created 2002/10/10; Completed 2003/03/04; Revised 2007/11/15;
PMID: 12374433, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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