Hypothetical neuron that responds to a single concept
The grandmother cell, sometimes called the "Jennifer Aniston neuron", is a hypothetical neuron that represents a complex but specific concept or object.[1] It activates when a person "sees, hears, or otherwise sensibly discriminates"[2] a specific entity, such as their grandmother. It contrasts with the concept of ensemble coding (or "coarse" coding), where the unique set of features characterizing the grandmother is detected as a particular activation pattern across an ensemble of neurons, rather than being detected by a specific "grandmother cell".[1]
The term was coined around 1969 by cognitive scientist Jerry Lettvin.[1] Rather than serving as a serious hypothesis, the "grandmother cell" concept was initially largely used in jokes and came to be used as a "straw man or foil" for a discussion of ensemble theories in introductory textbooks.[1]
However, a similar concept, that of the gnostic neuron, was introduced several years earlier by Jerzy Konorski as a serious proposal.[3][1]
^ abcdeGross, CG (2002). ""Genealogy of the "Grandmother Cell" (PDF). Neuroscientist. 8 (5): 512–518. doi:10.1177/107385802237175. PMID 12374433. S2CID 8436406. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-08.
^Clark, Austen (2000). A Theory of Sentience. Oxford University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-19-823851-5.
^Konorski J. 1967. Integrative activity of the brain; an interdisciplinary approach.(1967)
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