neurons – Harmonia Philosophica

Killing humans. By analyzing rocks. [Brake that rock!]

University of California, Berkeley neuroscientists have tracked the progress of a thought through the brain, showing clearly how the prefrontal cortex at the front of the brain coordinates activity to help us act in response to a perception.

Recording the electrical activity of neurons directly from the surface of the brain, the scientists found that for a simple task, such as repeating a word presented visually or aurally, the visual and auditory cortexes reacted first to perceive the word. The prefrontal cortex then kicked in to interpret the meaning, followed by activation of the motor cortex in preparation for a response. During the half-second between stimulus and response, the prefrontal cortex remained active to coordinate all the other brain areas. (1)

In another research, scientists have unveiled incredible images of how the DNA code is read and interpreted – revealing new detail about one of the fundamental processes of life. Scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, captured images of molecular machinery called RNA Polymerase III in the act of transcribing a gene in exquisite and unprecedented detail. (2)

We apply human-related words to lifeless matter and we believe that this actually means something. The cortex “reacts”, the cortex “interprets”, the cortex “prepares a response”, cells “read” the DNA…

We have created a universe with no humans inside, where only “objects” exist. And then we have given to these objects life. We have not only excommunicated our soul from the universe. We have trapped it inside rocks…

The only way out is to break that rock.

To analyze everything and see for ourselves.

To search deep inside until we see everything.

And only then will we see…

That we are inside that rock…

Neurons, plants and the mystery of patterns…

Plants and brains are more alike than you might think. Salk scientists discovered that the mathematical rules governing how plants grow are similar to how brain cells sprout connections. In particular, plants use the same rules to grow under widely different conditions (for example, cloudy versus sunny) and the density of branches in space follows a Gaussian (‘bell curve’) distribution – which is also true of neuronal branches in the brain. The work, published in Current Biology on July 6, 2017, and based on data from 3D laser scanning of plants, suggests there may be universal rules of logic governing branching growth across many biological systems. (1)

Everything is similar to everything. Analogous structures are repeated over and over again in multiple dimensions and in various realms of reality. The existence of universal patterns is something known for a long time now. But we are still unable to grasp the implications of such a discovery. Does it signify that the whole reality we experience is just an illusion? That everything is essentially the same One thing which manifests itself into various forms? Or does it simply signify the existence of a kind of field which affects everything? Could it just be a coincidence or a result of our prejudiced perception? Could we just be looking at what we expect to see in a massive “we shape reality” illusion?

I confess that I am unable to reach to a solid conclusion.

Although my subconscious does hint towards a specific solution.

All great mysteries somehow shout their solution.

But you must stay still in order to listen.

See the colours of the butterflies. The shapes of mountains and the coastlines of your favorite island. Watch the sounds of crickets and stare the planets move in the silent sky. Take a hold of a shell. Smell a rose. Think and let your neurons fire, while watching the light coming out of distant stars.

There is something which pertains everything…

There is evident harmony in the cosmos.

There is music in the silence.

Watch out that bee!

There is magic in the cosmos.

Everything different and yet the same.

Because everything is the same and yet so different.

Watch that snake eating its tale. It is you. It is the cosmos. It is the island and the bee. It is the butterflies and the roses. It is the cricket on the tree…

Forgetting things. Thinking. Finite beings. Deciding. Living.

According to the two researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada, memory isn’t intended to help transmit the most accurate information, but rather the most useful information that can help us make smart decisions in the future. Information generated from the process of forgetting as well as the process of creating memories.

Researchers found evidence of the deliberate weakening of the synaptic connections between neurons that help to encode memories, as well as signs that new neurons overwriting existing memories, to make them harder to access.

Forgetting helps us adjust to new situations by letting go of memories we don’t need. It also allows us to generalise past events to help us make decisions about new ones, a concept known in artificial intelligence as regularisation. Multiple or even conflicting memories makes it harder for you to make an informed decision. (1)

The only way to think is not to think.

Because thinking engulfs you in a set of beliefs and dogmas which make it almost impossible to select an action. Real life requires the ability to focus on what you want rather than analyze everything and take rational decisions. Because the mind will never be able to analyze everything or invent a set of logical axioms which will prove useful for every possible situation.

Acting is about filtering information, destroying what you have in your mind based on what you want to have in your mind, forgetting things, letting go of information which may be conflicting to what your heart dictates that you need to do.

We are not part of God because we are infinite.

We are part of God as finite beings, trying to live in a finite universe.

We should not be able to decide. And yet we do.

And though our incompleteness, we drive the cosmos.

Because deep inside we have already made up our mind.

Read the article carefully again.

You have 10 minutes to decide if you like it or not.

Go!

(Do you really care?)

Neuron connections… Not so important?

Neurons are connected to each other to form networks that underlie behaviors. Drs. Akira Sakurai and Paul Katz of Georgia State’s Neuroscience Institute study the brains of sea slugs, more specifically nudibranchs, which have large neurons that form simple circuits and produce simple behaviors. In this study, they examined how the brains of these sea creatures produce swimming behaviors. They found that even though the brains of two species – the giant nudibranch and the hooded nudibranch – had the same neurons, and even though the behaviors were the same, the wiring was different.

The researchers blocked some of the connections in the giant nudibranch using curare, a paralyzing poison used on blow darts by indigenous South Americans. This prevented the brain of the giant nudibranch from producing the pattern of impulses that would normally cause the animal to swim. Then, they inserted electrodes into the neurons to create artificial connections between the brain cells that were based on connections from the hooded nudibranch. The brain was able to produce rhythmic, alternating activity that would underlie the swimming behavior, showing these two species produce their swimming behavior using very different brain mechanisms.

The findings are published in the journal Current Biology.

“Behaviors that are homologous and similar in form would naturally be assumed to be produced by similar neural mechanisms,” said Katz, co-author of the study and a Regent’s Professor in the Neuroscience Institute at Georgia State. “This and previous studies show that connectivity of the neural circuits of two different species of sea slugs differ substantially from each other despite the presence of homologous neurons and behaviors. Thus, the evolution of microcircuitry could play a role in the evolution of behavior”. (1)

Change the brain and you will still have a being which swims.

Change the brain and you will still have a being that thinks.

Change the brain and you will still have a human who is self-conscious.

Your brain changes all the time and yet you are still “you”.

The cosmos changes all the time and yet the laws governing it are the same.

The universe changes all the time and yet it is eternal.

Everything seem different and yet similar patterns arise everywhere.

Time seems to pass and yet you can always remember.

People die only to show that they are still alive.

Things change only to prove that they do not…

Go swimming.

We all do.

Non thinking. As complex as thinking?

In 1959, a scientist named Edward Gray showed that the miniscule gaps between neurons where chemical messages are sent, called synapses, come in two main varieties, which researchers later dubbed “excitatory” and “inhibitory.”

Inhibitory synapses act as the brakes in the brain, preventing it from becoming overexcited. Researchers thought they were less sophisticated than their excitatory counterparts because relatively few proteins were known to exist at these structures. But a new study by Duke University scientists, published Sept. 9 in Science, overturns that assumption, uncovering 140 proteins that have never been mapped to inhibitory synapses.

“It’s like these proteins were locked away in a safe for over 50 years, and we believe that our study has cracked open the safe,” said the study’s senior investigator Scott Soderling, an associate professor of cell biology and neurobiology at Duke. “And there’s a lot of gems”. (1)

We believe thinking is more complex than non-thinking.

We believe doing is more important than not doing anything.

We believe in our ability to become gods.

And yet all we have to do is accept that we are…

Calm.

Actively passive.

Open.

Think about it. Or rather don’t…