[extropy-chat] "Dead Time" of the Brain

[A B]

Hi David,
   
  I'm no biologist, so this answer may turn out worthless. But, I assume that the transmission of signals is the major constituent of human cognition. That transmission cannot occur without the neuron "firing" electrically. During the periods when a neuron is not firing (not transmitting signals) I doubt that it contributes to cognition any more so than a liver cell (to use John's example) would. So the firing rate seems to be the critical and limiting factor.
   
  Best Wishes,
   
  Jeffrey Herrlich 

David Masten <dmasten at piratelabs.org> wrote:
  On Wed, 2006-04-19 at 14:45 -0700, A B wrote:
> 1 Second / 1000 Firings / 100 Billion Neurons = ...
> = ~ 10 ^ -14 Second = span in which not a single neuron anywhere in
> the brain is 
> firing.
> 
> 10 ^ -14 Second / 10 ^ -43 Second (one Planck Interval) =...
> = *At Least* ~ 10 ^ 29 Planck Intervals between the firings of any two
> (random) 
> neurons.

Questions:

What is the duration of a firing?
Shouldn't the processes leading up to and away from a firing count as
part of the "on" time?

Thanks,
Dave
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