3 ms·

Doesn't everything reconfigure our neurons? Isn't that the essence of conscious experience? To claim otherwise implies dualism as far as I can see. We know tha

Doesn't everything reconfigure our neurons? Isn't that the essence of conscious experience? To claim otherwise implies dualism as far as I can see. We know that the dynamic electrical state can't have much to do with it, because you can cool the brain to the point where all electrical activity ceases and it doesn't have any significant effect when you wake them up. That only leaves the configuration of the brain's parts. I suppose that there is so much of the biology we don't understand that we can't make strong claims at all, what with microtubules and the like.

aaronblohowiak 14y ago
IIRC, electricity is used to activate the release of neurotransmitters (intercellular communication is actually chemical, not electrical); the more interesting things are what governs the activation potential, the weights of the inputs and the connections between neurons. assuming that you can modify the activation potential across an axon, you still won't change the relative weights of its inputs or the neuron's connections...
- JonnieCache 14y ago
  >(intercellular communication is actually chemical, not electrical) Passing sodium ions around still sort of counts as electrical though doesn't it, because you're transferring charge? Or have I misunderstood?
  - hderms 14y ago
    it's definitely an electro-chemical gradient of sorts. at the cellular junction i believe the messages being transmitted are mostly receptor based (neurotransmitters) but there possibly some external ionic messages as well. I believe what you're referring to is when an action potential of ionic charge moves up a neuron and triggers the release of neurotransmitters. The message inside the neuron is due to the behavior of ions, and the message externally by receptor-binding neurotransmitters.
  - CognitiveLens 14y ago
    The distinction is that generally we think of "electricity" as a cascade of electrons, whereas action potentials are a cascade of ions. The net effect of both is a transfer of charge, but the mechanism is slightly different.
henrikschroder 14y ago
> Doesn't everything reconfigure our neurons? I would guess it happens in different degrees depending on how novel the experience is. Going to work for the 1537th time - not so much. Watching a predictable movie - a little bit. Reading an unpredictable book - now we're talking!

aaronblohowiak 14y ago

IIRC, electricity is used to activate the release of neurotransmitters (intercellular communication is actually chemical, not electrical); the more interesting things are what governs the activation potential, the weights of the inputs and the connections between neurons. assuming that you can modify the activation potential across an axon, you still won't change the relative weights of its inputs or the neuron's connections...

JonnieCache 14y ago
>(intercellular communication is actually chemical, not electrical) Passing sodium ions around still sort of counts as electrical though doesn't it, because you're transferring charge? Or have I misunderstood?
- hderms 14y ago
  it's definitely an electro-chemical gradient of sorts. at the cellular junction i believe the messages being transmitted are mostly receptor based (neurotransmitters) but there possibly some external ionic messages as well. I believe what you're referring to is when an action potential of ionic charge moves up a neuron and triggers the release of neurotransmitters. The message inside the neuron is due to the behavior of ions, and the message externally by receptor-binding neurotransmitters.
- CognitiveLens 14y ago
  The distinction is that generally we think of "electricity" as a cascade of electrons, whereas action potentials are a cascade of ions. The net effect of both is a transfer of charge, but the mechanism is slightly different.

henrikschroder 14y ago

> Doesn't everything reconfigure our neurons? I would guess it happens in different degrees depending on how novel the experience is. Going to work for the 1537th time - not so much. Watching a predictable movie - a little bit. Reading an unpredictable book - now we're talking!