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Re: [ontolog-forum] brainwaves (WAS: to concept or not to concept, is th

To: "[ontolog-forum] " <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Randall R Schulz <rschulz@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 07:24:07 -0800
Message-id: <200712170724.07122.rschulz@xxxxxxxxx>
On Monday 17 December 2007 06:01, Deborah MacPherson wrote:
> > RE: do not encode information about thought or perception or any
> > other cognitive activity or phenomenon.
>
> Where then, is this information ever encoded in machine readable
> form?    (01)

So far, there's no reason to believe that the information encoded in a 
neural network will ever be accessible from outside that network. The 
only machine that can (so far) access the content of a neural network 
(or whole CNS) is that network.    (02)


> Please point me to or name an example where accurate recordings 
> have been made because I have not been able to find a good example.    (03)

Of course you haven't. There as yet exists no technology that can detect 
CNS activity at the neuronal level over "large" regions. And right 
now, "large" is more than one neuron, and even then only a neuron's 
firing is detected—its information content, e.g. its long-term 
potentiation, cannot be read.    (04)

Functional MRI (fMRI) can discern gross metabolic activity rates at 
roughly milimeter-scale volumetric resolution and 1-second temporal 
resolution, and there are a lot of neurons in a cubic milimeter and a 
great deal of neuronal activity occurs in a second.    (05)


So far, neither brains nor minds can be read technologically, so one 
must approach notions of direct information exchange between one brain 
or mind and another with tremendous skepticism.    (06)


> Thank you - Deborah MacPherson    (07)


Randall Schulz    (08)

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