Advances in molecular biology has provided a wealth of information on biological processes at the cellular, protein, RNA, and DNA level. Molecular pathways are being to be ellucidated; however, studying the biology in such detail also narrows the perspective. Molecular biology is founded on the notion that a complex should be studied by decomposing it into part and analyzing the function of each of its componenets. While this reductionist approach is not without merits, and it has benefited us by effecting the discovery of various medicines and therapeutic treatments.
The complexity of system, however, is much greater than the sum of its parts, owing to the unpredicatble outcome of the system’s dynamics and synergistic interactions among the components. A more holistic approach involving the investigation large-scale patterns and principles, is therefore also paramount to understanding bioloby, and particularly neurology, which is especially complex and dynamic.
While a great deal about the cellular structure and moelcular mediators about the neuron is known, we are continuoually being reminded that our current knowledge pales in comparison with how much we don’t know. Rather than focusing on the molecular details, it would perhaps more logical to study how neurons interact with one another to engender cognition, consciousness and thought. Models that can relate neuronal properties to psychological phenomena, by examining the rich dynamics and interactions among neurons, should thus be developed. Physiological robotics is the study the neurological processes through the use of neural network modeling and dynamical system analysis, and can potentially be key to understanding just how the brain works.
