Approaching Brain Levels of Organization with Computational Neuroscience

Computational neuroscience is uniquely positioned to address challenging questions about the brain. Modeling distinct levels of organization in a computer offers scientists the ability to access variables that are otherwise hidden in living systems and to experiment with scenarios that may be non-feasible in a wet lab. Since the seminal work of Hodgkin and Huxley, the understanding of how neurons process information and communicate has been explored by various scientists across different domains. With the recent developments in artificial intelligence, we once again see a new trend of tools being developed and new groups working on brain-related subjects. In this review, we discuss how different levels of organization can be approached through computational neuroscience. We point to common and recent techniques that are used both experimentally and computationally.