It is clear that the brain is much more like a social network than a digital computer, with learning, memory and processing all being performed locally through graded communication between interconnected neurons. These neurons build up strong, complex "relationships" over a long period of time; a neuron buried deep in the brain can only function by learning which of the other neurons it can trust to convey useful information.
In contrast, a digital computer functions like the post office, routing arbitrary symbolic packages between passive memory structures through a centralized processing unit, without consideration for the contents of these packages.

Science 6 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5796, p. 75

Introduction to special issue
Of Bytes and Brains

Peter Stern and John Travis