The advancement of computing technology makes it possible to build extremely accurate digital reconstructions of brain circuits. Are such unprecedented levels of biological accuracy essential for brain simulations to play the roles they are expected to play in neuroscientific research? The main goal of this paper is to clarify this question by distinguishing between various roles played by large-scale simulations in contemporary neuroscience, and by reflecting about what makes a simulation biologically accurate. It is argued that large-scale simulations may play model-oriented and prediction-oriented roles in brain research, and that the concept of biological accuracy can be interpreted as related to the plausibility of the theoretical model implemented in the simulation system, to the accuracy of the computer implementation, and to the level of details of the implemented model. Building on these observations and distinctions, it is argued that biological accuracy is not essential for a computer simulation to play the epistemic roles it is expected to play in brain research.

中文翻译：

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大规模大脑模拟中的生物准确性。

计算技术的进步使建立大脑回路的极其精确的数字重建成为可能。如此空前的生物学准确性水平对于大脑模拟发挥其在神经科学研究中预期的作用至关重要吗？本文的主要目的是通过区分大规模模拟在当代神经科学中扮演的各种角色，并通过思考使模拟在生物学上准确的原因来澄清这个问题。有人认为，大规模模拟可能在脑研究中扮演面向模型和面向预测的角色，而生物学准确性的概念可以解释为与在模拟系统中实现的理论模型的合理性有关。计算机实现 以及实施模型的详细程度。在这些观察和区别的基础上，有人认为生物学准确性对于计算机模拟发挥其在脑研究中预期发挥的认识作用不是必不可少的。