[ExI] Fwd: neurons

[William Flynn Wallace]

I read Wm Dement in the '60s, but thanks anyway.  bill w


On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 5:49 PM, Giovanni Santostasi
<gsantostasi at gmail.com>wrote:

> Slow wave sleep is when neurons have the slowest and most synchronized
> firing.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow-wave_sleep
>
>
> On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 5:46 PM, Giovanni Santostasi <
> gsantostasi at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> In fact, one per second is resting for neurons. That is what happens when
>> you have slow waves oscillations that corresponds to the deepest state of
>> sleep.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 5:23 PM, William Flynn Wallace <
>> foozler83 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ​p.s.  Still, there are three states:  one in which the neuron fires at
>>> one per second (resting level - no input), one in which it fires faster
>>> (receiving excitatory input), and one in which it fires slower (receiving
>>> inhibitory input).​  So, firing or not firing is wrong in the context.
>>> bill w
>>>
>>>
>>> Well, OK, but the slowest they get is about one spike per second (up to
>>> 30) without external stimulation.  Not exactly resting.  bill w
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 4:03 PM, Giovanni Santostasi <
>>> gsantostasi at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> What you are thinking that neurons are at a particular potential when
>>>> at rest (about -70 mV). But they are not firing all the time at all. There
>>>> are times when they are silent.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, May 20, 2014 at 3:42 PM, William Flynn Wallace <
>>>> foozler83 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In The Future on the Mind, by Michio Kaku, he says as follows (facing
>>>>> page 342):
>>>>>
>>>>> "Define complex in terms of the total amount of information that can
>>>>> be stored.  The closet rival to the brain might be the info contained w/in
>>>>> our DNA.  Three billion base pairs containing one of four aids, therefore
>>>>> total amount of info is four to the three billionth power.  The brain can
>>>>> store much more - one hundred billion neurons, *which can either fire
>>>>> or not fire*.  Hence there are two raised to the
>>>>> one-hundred-billionth power initial states of the brain.... the states
>>>>> change every few milliseconds.  A simple thought may contain  one hundred
>>>>> generations of neural firings.  Hence there are two raised by one hundred
>>>>> billion, all raised to the hundredth power possible thoughts contained in
>>>>> one hundred generations.  Brains are ceaselessly computing.  Therefore the
>>>>> total number of thoughts possible within N generations is two to the
>>>>> one-hundred-billionth power, all raised to the Nth power.
>>>>>
>>>>> My question concerns the underlined clause:  there are three states to
>>>>> a neuron:  increasing its rate, decreasing its rate, and staying the same.
>>>>> Kaku says that a neuron fires or not.  This seems to say that a neuron is
>>>>> idle, waiting for stimuli, whereas I think that no neuron ever is not
>>>>> firing.
>>>>>
>>>>> Am I confused again, or is he wrong?  bill w
>>>>>
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>>
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