An artificial neural network (ANN) is a way of processing information that is inspired by the way biological nervous systems such as the brain process information. It is made up of a large number of highly interconnected processing elements (neurones) working together to solve specific problems, such as pattern recognition or data classification. Like people, ANNs learn by example, adjusting the connections that exist between the neurones. ‘Neural networks, with their remarkable ability to derive meaning from complicated or imprecise data, can be used to extract patterns and detect trends that are too complex to be noticed by either humans or other computer techniques.’ This quote is from Christos Stergiou and Dimitrios Siganos, ‘What is a Neural Network’, Imperial College.
http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/computing/ Imperial College computing website.