A mathematical neuron

An early mathematical account of how networks of idealized neurons could carry out logical operations.

Warren S. McCulloch and Walter Pitts

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The contribution

McCulloch and Pitts modeled nervous activity with simplified, all-or-none units and logical relations. The paper connected the organization of a network to the computations it could represent, helping establish a formal language for studying neural computation.

What this does not establish

These were idealized units, not a full biological model. The paper did not introduce the learned weights or training procedures used in modern neural networks.

Why this date?

1943 is the publication year of the linked journal article.

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The original work

A logical calculus of the ideas immanent in nervous activity

Authors: Warren S. McCulloch and Walter Pitts
Publication: Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics, 5, 115–133
Source type: Journal article

Original journal record

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Cited By

Atlas entries whose reference lists cite this work or the publication version noted below.

The perceptron: A probabilistic model for information storage and organization in the brain (1958)
Listed in the source bibliography. Check the reference list.
Perceptrons: An Introduction to Computational Geometry (1969)
Bibliographic Notes cite the 1943 paper. The printed citation changes the title ending to neural nets and gives page 137 instead of 133. Checked in the 1988 edition retaining the original text. Check the reference list.
Associative Memory: A System-Theoretical Approach (1977)
Reference 102 identifies the 1943 article by authors, journal, volume and first page. Check the reference list.
Neural networks and physical systems with emergent collective computational abilities (1982)
Reference 12 cites McCulloch and Pitts (1943), Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 5, 115-133. Check the reference list.

Citations

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Publisher references

Carnap, R. 1938.The Logical Syntax of Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. Hilbert, D., und Ackermann, W. 1927.Grundüge der Theoretischen Logik. Berlin: J. Springer. Russell, B., and Whitehead, A. N. 1925.Principa Mathematica. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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The contribution

What this does not establish

Why this date?

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