It seems that we are going to be thinking a little differently about our bodies during the coming years. We still have all the same organs and processes that are important to our lives and happiness. But as we develop more awareness of the role of our brains, we may find a few new doors opening. From ancient times, some people have known that a missing limb, lost in a battle or accident or to a surgeon could mysteriously ache. It sounds odd and funny but I guess it was not funny to have severe pain where some part of one’s body was not there. How could such a situation be treated?
I guess the problem in one form or another is still around but in some cases, recognition of the role of the brain has assisted in alleviating the problem. Quite a while ago, we read “The Brain that Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge, MD. That still seems to be an excellent survey of research, treatment and relevant concepts that neuro-science has uncovered. I have spent some time discussing “Phantoms in the Brain” by Ramachandran and others and the parts of the Doidge book that are related.
I have also read “Soft-Wired” by Michael Merzenich, a major scientist in the new work being done in understanding the brain and how it works. He, like Doidge, mentions ideas that Ramachandran has developed by thinking of the brain space devoted to control and health of our limbs. When one of the limbs is gone for whatever reason, nobody tells the brain that it is gone. The brain has been getting input from that limb for years and suddenly, nothing. What is the scoop? Besides, the area of the brain devoted to that limb is valuable real estate, coveted by its neighbors, which are “programs” or “apps” that have their own responsibilities and purposes.
Doidge, Merzenich and Ramachandran use two slogans that they feel help to develop a useable picture of brains:
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Use it or lose it
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Cells that fire together wire together
The first means that in the war for brain space, a seat at the table, so to speak, the office space used for one function will be taken over by the expansion of neighbors if the space is not being used. So, to keeps things healthy, it may be valuable to train, move, use, while concentrating. Merzenich said that concentration, paying attention matters in barin use while many said that such a notion was too subjective, that paying attention could not possibly make a material difference in body structure. Merzenich was accused of altering his data but evidently, he has shown that what we concentrate on matters very much to the brain and its structure.
I can understand the first slogan but for quite a while, the 2nd didn’t mean much to me. But then, recently, I realized the connection. If the brain used a location for a memory, then the number of possible memories would be equal to the number of locations. But if it uses a pattern of cells for a memory, the number of possible memories shoots way up. A checkboard with nine blocks (3x3) has nine locations but using no cells up to all 9 in any combination, there are 2 to the 9th power of patterns that can be expressed. That makes 512, quite an increase in possible patterns. Each additional location doubles the number of possibilities, so with trillions of cells the number is beyond comprehension.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
