What time is it?(University of California (Los Angeles) research on physiology of brain cells)(Brief article)

Scientific Computing, March, 2007

How would we tell time if not for clocks? UCLA proposes a model in which physical changes to the brain's cells helps it to monitor the passage of time. Says Dean Buonomano, professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine, "Every time the brain processes a sensory event, ... it triggers a cascade of reactions between brain cells and their connections.

Each reaction leaves a signature, enabling the brain cell network to encode time." The team simulated a network of interconnected brain cells in which each connection changed over time in response to stimuli, effectively showing that they can tell time.