|
|
|
Neurons not a switchThe secret power of the cell Brian, J. Ford, Gonville and Caius, Cambridge University New Scientist, 24 April 2010 (based on a paper in Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, vol. 34, p. 350) INTRODUCTION: Ford argues that neuroscience has made a big mistake in viewing the neuron as a simple on/off switch, and concentrating its attention on the relationship between neurons, rather than understanding the neurons themselves. He points to the autonomous and intelligent-type behaviour of single cell organisms, and suggests that the capacities of the brain are based on the processing of individual neurons. This is reminiscent of Penrose's 1994 discussion of the abilities of single cell organisms, which was seen as an argument for quantum computing, within the complex quantum bonds of protein and water that make up individual cells. Ford discusses the extent to which single cell organisms manifest autonomous and intelligent-type behaviour. He points out how some species of algae display a problem solving capacity, while other single cell organisms build symmetrical shells out of grains of sand. He also indicates the degree to which individual cells in the body are autonomous, responding to current conditions, without needing instructions from the brain. In looking at the brain and neurons, Ford is critical of the strongly entrenched orthodoxy of modelling the immensely complex neurons as simple on/off switches. This is the more curious, in that much modern research is directed at the complex proteins of the cell interior. Ford wonders why neurons are allotted such a simplistic role, when single cells demonstrate the capacity for such complex activity. He points out how neuroscience is interested in the relationship between neurons, rather than neurons themselves. He further hypothesises that the effectiveness of the brain will eventually be discovered to derive more from processing within neurons than from the relationship between them. He views the action potentials that set off the movement of neurotransmitters from one neuron to the next, as a language that neurons use to transmit data that they have already processed. He regards the brain not as a supercomputer, but as a community of microscopic computers. Attempts to develop artificial intelligence and robotics based on the neuron as a switch are therefore seen as a grandiose failure, a view that seems to be supported by a half century of disappointment with attempts to develop autonomous robots. Finally, Ford recalls an eerie experiment in which the 40 Hz gamma synchrony, viewed as a correlate of consciousness in much conventional neuroscience, was adjusted to a frequency compatible with the human ear. He relates how this produced a sound with the hypnotic quality of the calls of seabirds, and a sense that each axon spike was modulating a discrete signal within itself. To some, the discussion of capacities of single cells may sound familiar. In fact, the point was made by Penrose as far back as 1994, when he remarked on the sophisticated autonomous abilities of the single-cell paramecium. The proposal here was that single-cell organisms can achieve sophisticated behaviour, without the help of brains or nervous systems. This is suggested to be because individual cells utilise quantum computing based on cytoskeletal structures that are suited to information processing and on the complex web of quantum bonds within the protein and water that comprises the cells. |
| Email: quantum-mind@blueyonder.co.uk Copyright © Quantum Mind 2012. Web design by 7Soft.co.uk. |