research

What makes the brain such an amazing learner? This question drives my passion for NeuroAI—the field where neuroscience and artificial intelligence meet. I am interested in almost all aspects and possibilities of NeuroAI. Some of the areas that I have explored and am especially interested in are:

• How the brain learns locally - Hebbian, Neo-Hebbian; Sparsity
  
  I’m especially curious about the local learning rules the brain uses, like Hebbian and Neo-Hebbian learning, and the idea of sparsity.
  
  Hebbian learning is a basic rule that says “cells that fire together wire together.” This means that when two neurons (brain cells) are active at the same time, the connection between them gets stronger, helping us learn and remember things.
  
  Neo-Hebbian learning builds on this idea by adding a twist: if something happens that surprises the brain, or if an outcome is different from what was expected, the brain is more likely to change the connections between neurons. This helps the brain learn more effectively and accurately.
  
  I’m also fascinated by sparsity—the idea that at any given time, only a few neurons are active while most are quiet. This helps the brain process and store information in a very efficient way.
  
  By understanding these local learning rules and how the brain uses them, we can find new ways to design artificial neural networks that are smarter and more efficient, just like the brain.

• Memory - role of Neocortex and Hippocampus
  
  Another area that really interests me is how the brain handles memory—especially how the neocortex and hippocampus work together to create, store, and recall memories.
  
  The Complementary Learning Systems (CLS) theory suggests that these two parts of the brain have different but connected roles. The hippocampus is key for quickly forming and storing new, detailed memories of specific events. Over time, these memories are gradually moved to the neocortex, where they are stored long-term and linked to other knowledge we already have.
  
  The neocortex helps us recognize patterns and generalize from our experiences, which allows us to learn and adapt to new situations. By studying how these two brain regions interact, we can better understand how memories are formed and maintained. This knowledge could help with treating memory disorders and improving AI systems to work more like the human brain.