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vincentML -> RE: Let's try leaving religion out of it.... (7/3/2016 2:27:58 PM)
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ORIGINAL: Kirata
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ORIGINAL: dcnovice
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You appear to be suffering from a faith-based belief that brains produce consciousness. But the fact that the claim is speculative and based on an assumption cannot be dismissed with a wave of a priestly hand. No direct evidence exists for such a claim.
Interesting.
What might be other sources of consciousness?
Well that's the question, but unlike Vincent I don't have an answer and he doesn't really know either.
K.
Unlike Kirata, science is willing to seek answers and build a theory (model) that best fits what is known. He simply throws up his hands in dismay and resignation, content to naysay the current model. Why is the current model important (i.e. consciousness is generated by the brain)? Because it is the basis for crucial diagnostic decisions made everyday in hospitals the world over.
The beauty and power of science as a method of 'finding out' is that it welcomes challenges to prevailing theory because that's where growth of knowledge comes from. New discoveries provide new questions to be explored. Science is the unraveling of (physical) mysteries. You very well know that, Kirata.
What have care-givers and doctors observed in their patients? Consciousness seems to be a continuum from awareness > wakefulness > minimal consciousness > coma > vegetative state (locked in syndrome) > brain death.
The part of the brain responsible for wakefulness is the reticular activating system (RAS), a collection of neurons in the upper brainstem that send widespread stimulatory projections to the areas of the brain responsible for awareness.
The parts of the brain responsible for awareness—the ability to think and perceive—are the neurons (brain cells) in the cortex (grey matter) of the two hemispheres and the axons (communicating projections) in the white matter between those neurons. The brain’s neurons are located in the cerebral cortex—the grey matter at the surface of the brain—and in the deep grey matter in nuclei such as the thalamus. These billions of neurons make trillions of connections via axons in the white matter, constituting functional neural networks that support all conscious effort of the brain, as well as many functions of the brain that do not require consciousness.
Awareness is not a function of solely a single area of the cortex or deep grey matter. Rather, it emerges from the coordinated activity of many parts of the brain. Although consciousness is possible with loss of limited areas of the cortex (as can be seen in some stroke victims), severe and widespread injury to the cortex, thalami, white matter, or any combination of these will result in unconsciousness, even if the RAS is functioning normally.
SOURCE
So, how is it our waterlogged Frenchman was able to live a conscious life? The full healthy brain has trillions of neural connections. Every time we learn something new - a new task or a new bit of data - we form new neural connections. At first the connections may be only electrochemical and provide only short term memory. But practice (or addiction) over time provides for the development of new neural networks (plasticity) wherein we gain long term memory. So, it is not an unreasonable assumption that as he developed (remember the liquid was drained for a time) the patient grew sufficient networks to maintain awareness and to perform tasks sufficient to keep a job and provide a family.
That should not be shocking. The human brain is an awesome instrument and a rich mine for more information about itself.
You just lack respect for the human brain, K.
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