Overlaps Between Biological And Artificial Neural Networks?

snurfer asks: "I'm very interested in the overlap between biological and neural networks, but I don't know much about the research being done in these areas. Where do people think the next breakthrough in neural network-type computing is coming from? Is there any possibility that improved understanding of neural function and how the biological brain solves problems and learns/remembers might flow into the next generation of software? I guess just in general, are the two research areas still borrowing from each other, or have they diverged too far to be of mutual benefit?"