[lupire]

It's an ego thing and a focus thing. They put so much effort into studying the biological details, that they resent people exteacting value without going to that effort, and feel offended at the implication that what they are studying is simple.

Ultimately it's largely down to misapprehension of the difference between emulating a neuton and simulating a neuron, and defensiveness about an approximate model.

[robwwilliams]

Hmm, in my experience this is not the primary reason, and I would also argue that the original statement is wrong. Computational neuroscientist are very comfortable (too comfortable perhaps) with simplified models of neurons and brain circuits. We accept them as stick figures. DNNs fit into the typical mindset of synaptic and neural circuits. Reading Synaptic Organization of the Brain should leave you stunned at the relative simplicity of how neuroscientists think the brain works.

Most neuroscientists do not indulge in deep thought because it does not pay the bills. NIH does not push us toward “understanding cognition and consciousness”. They push us toward treatments for Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, stroke, epilepsy, and addiction. We do not have time for the fun stuff until we are ready to retire, which is when many of us become terrible neurophilosophers, e.g., Eccles.