“A team of researchers from the University of Waterloo has built the world’s largest simulation of a functioning brain. It can help scientists understand how the complex activity of the brain gives rise to the complex behaviour exhibited by animals, including humans. The model is called Spaun, which stands for Semantic Pointer Architecture Unified Network. It consists of 2.5 million simulated neurons. The model captures biological details of each neuron, including which neurotransmitters are used, how voltages are generated in the cell, and how they communicate. Spaun uses this network of neurons to process visual images in order to control an arm that draws Spaun’s answers to perceptual, cognitive and motor tasks.”

http://uwaterloo.ca/news/news/waterloo-researchers-create-worlds-largest-functioning-model-brain

http://nengo.ca/build-a-brain/spaunvideos