2002/10/01 by Charles G. Gross · 5 citations
Neuroscience · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Neural dynamics and brain function #Plant and Biological Electrophysiology Studies #Memory and Neural Mechanisms
paper · doi:10.1177/107385802237175
openalex publication_date 2002/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/11
A "grandmother cell" is a hypothetical neuron that responds only to a highly complex, specific, and meaningful stimulus, such as the image of one's grandmother. The term originated in a parable Jerry Lettvin told in 1967. A similar concept had been systematically developed a few years earlier by Jerzy Konorski who called such cells "gnostic" units. This essay discusses the origin, influence, and current status of these terms and of the alternative view that complex stimuli are represented by the pattern of firing across ensembles of neurons.