Physiological brain functions, theories, and treaments
October 28, 2009 - 5:03pm
Aboriginal theory, scientific theory, medical theory, social science theories, professional/personal experience/theory, homeopathic theory, and anything else that fits.....
Okay here's one from the scientific side entitled, Brain cells tied to consciousness reported found
And there's more with coloured diagrams and everything. We are all just a pack of neurons according to average brain experts. Well I'm convinced. So where would our political stooges go to have head transplants? And, would they be the same people after the procedure?
I don't think it would work like that. It would be more like a brain receiving a body transplant.
ETA: Fidel, if you think we're more than a "pack of neurons," what else do you think we are?
it could be both.
A body can exist, without brain function on life support, and a brain can exist without body function.
....theoretically the 2 could become one.
Yes, the empty shell of a body can exist without a brain but a mind or person (which amounts to the same thing) cannot.
Certainly.
If that brain could somehow be restarted.
ETA: Fidel, if you think we're more than a "pack of neurons," what else do you think we are?
I don't know. But scientists do have theories. Consciousness, they say, is being self-aware of our inner selves, and of knowing the past and future, and being aware that we will die some day. For people, self-awareness is said to occur somewhere around 18 and 24 months after birth. Scientists know that we become self-aware because toddlers eventually learn to recognize themselves in the mirror. And then they were interested to know how many other animals are self-aware using the mirror test. They discovered that Chimps are self-aware. And Orangutans by the mirror test, but no other animals. They say the mirror test is not proof of anything more than people, Chimps, and Orangutans are good with mirrors. I still don't know.
I don't know. But scientists do have theories. Consciousness, they say, is being self-aware of our inner selves, and of knowing the past and future, and being aware that we will die some day. For people, self-awareness is said to occur somewhere around 18 and 24 months after birth. Scientists know that we become self-aware because toddlers eventually learn to recognize themselves in the mirror. And then they were interested to know how many other animals are self-aware using the mirror test. They discovered that Chimps are self-aware. And Orangutans by the mirror test, but no other animals. They say the mirror test is not proof of anything more than people, Chimps, and Orangutans are good with mirrors. I still don't know.
And why couldn't consciousness and self-awareness and such (sometimes referred to as "sapience") reside in our neurons?
P.S. My cat could recognize herself in the mirror.
And why couldn't consciousness and self-awareness and such reside in our neurons?
I must admit that I have no real idea either way. I suppose it's possible.
My cat still thinks it's another cat in the mirror. He's a tiny grey thing, and yet the big lab next door is still not too sure of who he is when out and about on the property. My little guy is old and frail now, but something about his 40 million year-old feline lineage still puts the fear of Jeebus into mr big dog next door. It's strange, because big dog could bite him in two once he got the hang of it. I think my little guy has no real awareness of his own mortality. Absolutely fearless.
And why couldn't consciousness and self-awareness and such reside in our neurons?
I must admit that I have no real idea either way. I suppose it's possible.
But where else could these things be located? One of my crazier friends thinks that consciousness is collective and that it resides in the ether. I file that in the Department of Untestable Theories.
Funny. My cat will waltz right up to my dog's food bowl. Brazenness takes him far.
As far as I can tell anything is possible with mind-brain theories. Sam Parnia in the UK says that the "we are just a pack of neurons" idea was what he thought about the brain even after graduating medical school. After his own experiences with resucitating people back to life from clinical death, and since speaking with other heart specialists and psychologists, logicians and philosophers around the world, he's not so sure.
In addition to the neural network theory other alternative views have also been put forward. Some scientists and most notably Stuart Hameroff, an anaesthesiologist in Arizona and Roger Penrose, a mathematician in the UK, have proposed that mind or consciousness may be produced by quantum processes in brain cells. Another view proposed by David Chalmers, a philosopher in Arizona, contends that the mind may itself be a separate entity in its own right.
Will quantum theory explain where or how thoughts originate, or even why my cat doesn't seem to be aware of himself much less care? Or is this merely a leap of faith issue that reqjuires proof positive for people like Roger Penrose?
My cat is very aware of me and where I am in the house most of the time. I think he misses me when I go out, but mainly because he associates me with food. That imagery of me giving him food and smell of food is etched into his long-term memory, I'm sure of it. Except when he cat naps, which is a lot lately.