MIT News October 18, 2021
A team of researchers in the US (Stanford University, University of Chicago, Columbia University, MIT) constructed a network of artificial neurons comprising an input layer, a compression layer, and an expansion layer — just like the fruit fly olfactory system. They gave it the same number of neurons as the fruit fly system, but no inherent structure: connections between neurons would be rewired as the model learned to classify odors. The scientists asked the network to assign data representing different odors to categories, and to correctly categorize not just single odors, but also mixtures of odors. It took the artificial network only minutes to organize itself. The structure that emerged was stunningly similar to that found in the fruit fly brain. Biology finds six, and their network finds about six as well. Now, researchers can use the model to further explore that structure, exploring how the network evolves under different conditions and manipulate the circuitry in ways that cannot be done experimentally…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ