Uploaded January 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Show notes: braininspired.co/podcast/126
Patreon support: patreon.com/braininspired
Free Video Series: Open Questions in AI and Neuroscience:
braininspired.co/open
Randy and I discuss his long-standing interest in how the brain stores information to compute. That is, where is the engram, the physical trace of memory in the brain? Modern neuroscience is dominated by the view that memories are stored among synaptic connections in populations of neurons. Randy believes a more reasonable and reliable way to store abstract symbols, like numbers, is to write them into code within individual neurons. Thus, the spiking code, whatever it is, functions to write and read memories into and out of intracellular substrates, like polynucleotides (DNA, RNA, e.g.). He lays out his case in detail in his book with Adam King, Memory and the Computational Brain: Why Cognitive Science will Transform Neuroscience. We also talk about some research and theoretical work since then that support his views.
0:00 - Intro
6:50 - Cognitive science vs. computational neuroscience
13:23 - Brain as computing device
15:45 - Noam Chomsky's influence
17:58 - Memory must be stored within cells
30:58 - Theoretical support for the idea
34:15 - Cerebellum evidence supporting the idea
40:56 - What is the write mechanism?
51:11 - Thoughts on deep learning
1:00:02 - Multiple memory mechanisms?
1:10:56 - The role of plasticity
1:12:06 - Trying to convince molecular biologists
Show notes: braininspired.co/podcast/126
Patreon support: patreon.com/braininspired
Free Video Series: Open Questions in AI and Neuroscience:
braininspired.co/open
Randy and I discuss his long-standing interest in how the brain stores information to compute. That is, where is the engram, the physical trace of memory in the brain? Modern neuroscience is dominated by the view that memories are stored among synaptic connections in populations of neurons. Randy believes a more reasonable and reliable way to store abstract symbols, like numbers, is to write them into code within individual neurons. Thus, the spiking code, whatever it is, functions to write and read memories into and out of intracellular substrates, like polynucleotides (DNA, RNA, e.g.). He lays out his case in detail in his book with Adam King, Memory and the Computational Brain: Why Cognitive Science will Transform Neuroscience. We also talk about some research and theoretical work since then that support his views.
0:00 - Intro
6:50 - Cognitive science vs. computational neuroscience
13:23 - Brain as computing device
15:45 - Noam Chomsky's influence
17:58 - Memory must be stored within cells
30:58 - Theoretical support for the idea
34:15 - Cerebellum evidence supporting the idea
40:56 - What is the write mechanism?
51:11 - Thoughts on deep learning
1:00:02 - Multiple memory mechanisms?
1:10:56 - The role of plasticity
1:12:06 - Trying to convince molecular biologists
