This work differs fundamentally from the previous biological wisdom and literature. It arose from a detailed study of the human visual system, including its neural aspects. The basic finding was that the neural system was fundamentally electrolytic in nature (as opposed to the common wisdom that it was chemically based). The system is electrolytic in the sense;
The most important of these differences are summarized in the following sections:
More specific variances are described in individual THEME PAGES dedicated to each of the major sensory modalities.
One of the primary reasons for preparing this website and text was to share the great amount of new findings generated during an extensive, comprehensive, and I believe exhaustive investigation into the visual sensory modality of the Neural System. The initial goal was to prepare this website and text immediately after publishing the website, "Processes in Biological Vision" and the paper copy text,"Biological Vision: A 21st Century Tutorial" However, it quickly became obvious that a major investigation into the hearing modality was necessary before a major work on the neural system could be considered. As a result, a similarly extensive investigation into the hearing modality was undertaken. This effort resulted in the preparation of the website, "Processes in Biological Hearing" and the paper copy text, "Hearing: A 21st Century Paradigm."
xxx edit xxx The following basic principles were defined based on the available laboratory investigations. They are in blatant conflict with the conventional wisdom. However, they do provide the most comprehensive explanation of any available theory of vision. This explanation extends to levels of detail that are not even discussed in alternate theories.
xxx edit xxx It is hoped that these basic principles can be kept in mind as the reader explores these sites and printed texts. It is hoped that the reader will discern the value of these proposals when he/she examines the added insights they provide into the visual system in man and other animals.
The overall neural system can be subdivided into three functional areas; the sensory input section, the section incorporating the saliency map of the environment and associated cognitive activity, and the section related to the muscular/glandular response. These three sections can be further divided into seven functional neural stages;
Stages 1 and 2 are replicated in order to support the multiple sensory modalities. The resulting sensory specific signals are delivered to stage 3 for propagation to the central nervous system (CNS).
Stage 4 employs a large number of "engines," typically containing one to four million neurons, dedicated to specific sensory modalities but with a common goal of extracting information concerning the (typically external) environment from the incoming signals and formating that information for inclusion in a comprehensive saliency map. Stage 4 occupies nearly all of the CNS other than the frontal lobe in humans.
The circuits of stages 4 and 5, while assigned to specific tasks, exhibit a common architecture irrespective of the source of their signals or information.
It is shown in this work that the functional elements of the neural system are entirely electrolytic (electronic employing fluid-based structures). The signaling medium (which includes all neurotransmitters) is the negative electronic charge, and not a variety of chemicals. Chemistry provides the primary support (non-signaling) to the operation of the electrolytic neurons.
The electron is the only neurotransmitter within the mammalian neural system.
Every neuron, like any other cell, requires oxygen to support its homeostasis. However, the signaling portion of the neuron has an additional requirement. The neural component requires electrical energy provided by the conversion of glutamic acid into GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). A backup system is employed under certain conditions that provides electrical power through the conversion of aspartic acid to glycine. Glutamic acid (known as glutamate to the pharmacologist) is ubiquitous in the vicinity of neural circuits. Glutamic acid and its backup Aspartic acid are uniquely qualified for the task of providing electrica power to the neurons. They are the only negatively charged amino acids.
Glutamic acid and aspartic acid are not neurotransmitters, they are neurofacilitators.
GABA and glycine are not neurotransmitters, they are the residue of the neurofacilitators.
Because of their accessibility, the chemicals released by the stage 6 neurons at their interface with the muscles have been intensely studied. There are two principle neuroaffectors that are used to affect the musculatura, acetylcholine and nitric oxide (NO). These chemicals are not found within the neural system except in the terminal (pedicle) region of stage 6 neurons. Acetylcholine is used to cause contraction of the striated muscle tissue. Nitric oxide is used to cause relaxation of the smooth muscle tissue.
Acetylcholine and nitric oxide are not neurotransmitters, they are "short range" neuroaffectors.
Many other chemicals are produced in the terminal neurons of stage 6. In their role as sources of the principle hormones of the biological system, these stage 6 neurons are properly described as neuro-glandular affectors.
Hormones are "long range" neuroaffectors released into the bloodstream at the pedicles of stage 6 neurons.
Historically, it has been suggested that the neural system is primarily concerned with the action potentials easily measured within the neural system. However, these action potentials are associated with less than 5% of the neurons of the overall system. More than 95% of the neurons of the mammalian neural system involve analog signaling. This is most easily seen in the human retina that has ben extensively studied. The retina contains approximately 15 million stage 1 photoreceptors operating in the analog domain, approximately 100 million associated stage 2 signal processing neurons operating in the analog domain (in the neural portion of the retina) and approximately one million stage 3 ganglion neurons generating action potentials. The pulse circuits make up less than one percent of these circuits.
The human brain is estimated to contain upward of 10 billion neurons and between 100 and 1000 Billion synapses. The vast majority of these elements operate in the analog domain. Less than 100 million neurons of the CNS are estimated to operate in the pulse domain and create action potentials.
The architecture of the CNS can be more easily understood if its major roles are separated. The fundamental signal paths typically support the most fundamental requirements of the biological system, an awareness of the external environment. This capability can be described using an awareness mode overlay. However, major requirements exist to provide very rapid indication of danger through an alarm mode overlay. In the higher animals, there is an additional requirement to provide more detail concerning specific stimuli that invokes an analytical mode. With all of this information assembled into a saliency map, a cognitive mode is employes by the stage 5 neurons. The results of cognition logically lead to a command mode that creates and distributes instructions to the musculatura and glandualr system to take action.
Other modes can be defined within the fundamental architecture of the neural system of the higher mammals. In the case of the dolphins, an acoustic ranging and imaging mode is employed that is much more sophisticated than the simple stereopsis mode of human vision or the acoustic ranging capability of humans.
Traceable to their original purpose, the stage 1 signal detection neurons of the sensory modalities are fundamentally change detectors. They universally exhibit very high degrees of insensitivity to long term stimulus changes (a feature described as adaptation). This insensitivity to long term change is traceable throughout the neural system. A major functional overlay of stages 4 and 5 is the alarm response mode described above. This overlay bypasses many of the normal neural circuits to provide the "flight" response associated with the choice between "fright and flight" where fright involves a raised level of attention but no major physical movement.
The visual modality introduces a special capability, tremor, into its operating repertoire in order to provide what appears to be a capability for imaging a sustained stimulus.
The neural system is critically dependent on the memory capabilities for everyday operations. Information about this capability has long been shrouded in mystery because of two features. First, it is largely controlled by the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) of the diencephalon (a well protected portion of the midbrain). Second, it is largely holonomic in character. A holonomic image is similar to a holographic image except it is not formed on a two-dimensional surface. In the limit, it can be infinitely dispersed throughout stages 4 and 5 of the neural system.
The saliency map, a major portion of the overall memory subsystem, consists of an updatable full frame memory. this memory is functionally similar to the updatable full frame memory incorporated in every new television set capable of receiving digital high definition broadcast signals. The same type of memory is used in every consumer oriented cable television or satellite television receiver.
The capacity of the total holonomic updatable full frame memory of humans (and other mammals) is prodigous and probably not describable using bounded numbers. Major portions of it are known to be permanently accessible by the subject.
Every neural path consists of a series of electrolytic conduits (wires) alternating with active electrolytic devices providing amplification of the signal. Amplification is used here in the broadest sense of power amplification. Such amplification can support either increases in signal amplitude or in (the functionally equivalent)decreases in signal path impedance.
Conventional wisdom since the 1950's has been that the axolemma of the neuron, a simple bilayer film of liquid crystalline triglyceride material, is an active two-terminal device. There has been no explanation of why or how it is active. As an alternative explanation, it is proposed that when two such bilayer films are brought into close proximity, the resulting structure can form a three-terminal electrolytic semiconductor device, known as an Activa®. This device acts like a conventional solid-state semiconductor device. The Activa is an electrolytic, (organic) semiconductor device, US Patent #5,946,185. Such a device can be found at every junction between two plasmolemmas in the nervous system. .
The three-terminal Activa is the fundamental building block of the nervous system
The Activas are found in three principle locations. The Activa may be totally embeded within a neuron. wherein it is usually associated with the histologically identified hillock of the neuron (whether operating in the pulse or amplitude domain). The Activa may be located in a semi-enclosed region of a neuron known as a Node of Ranvier. The Activa may be located in a totally external region between two or more electrolytic conduits and be described histologically as a synapse. In all cases, these Activas are active electrolytic amplifiers. The Activa can be described as an electrolytic junction semiconducting device analagous to the man-made transistor. It exhibits "transistor-like" action. All known Activas within the biological system are of the PNP type in which electrons are the principle signal carrier.
All known stage 1 signal detection neurons contain two Activas in an asymmetrical pair arrangement. This arrangement is one of the steps taken in evolution to achieve an optimization of the dendritic structure of a neuron to provide a sensory capability. The first Activa acts as a high signal amplification element and the second acts as a level shifting and an impedance reducing element. The impedance transformation is nonlinear and results in the voltage at the pedicle of a sensory neuron being proportional to the logarithm of the current applied to the first Activa within the neuron.
The sensory neurons perform a logarithmic signal transformation that is critical to understanding the neural system.
Genetics has become a very fast advancing field of science in recent years. Initial statements were made that the genetic code only encoded proteins and much of the code was unused "junk." Recent advances have found that much of this junk code is in fact functional and critical to the well being of the individual. Not all functional genetic code describes proteins.
The geneticists have yet to determine how the genetic code specifies non-protein materials. Many of the materials associated with the signal detection stages of the sensory modalities utilize non-protein materials in their transdcution process. Some sensory modalities rely upon specific chemicals, known as metal complexes, that self assemble from available chemical materials in the local environment. It is a challenge to discover how the genetic code causes these disparate materials to be available at the right location and in the right concentrations to form these metal complexes (apparently without the participation of any enzymes).
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