8
THE HUMAN
BRAIN
In the preceding chapters, an in-depth study was carried
out on a representative cross section of dynamic activities in the
material state from those associated with biological life forms to those
associated with atoms and molecules. A theory was then submitted,
proposing that all dynamic activities in the material state are powered
and driven by intelligent energy forces resident within material entities.
The theory also suggested how intelligence in an energy state might
manifest itself in the material state, viz. as intelligent code patterns
of electromagnetic energy shuttling between atoms and molecules through
molecular linkages, and projected overtly in the material state as
intelligent material patterns created through chemical reactions.
In the living body, we have witnessed the complex
functional activities associated with living cells, tissues, organs and
body systems... activities that defy understanding and logical explanation
unless we are prepared to acknowledge that there are intelligent forces
operating at every level within the living body, not just within the brain
unit alone.
If the property of intelligence is present in energy
forces, and if this same property also pervades every part of the living
body as theorized, what then is so special about the human brain, that
exalted convoluted blob within the cranium popularly regarded as the
central biological unit occupying the highest seat of intelligence on this
side of Creation? Is the human brain’s property of consciousness and
intelligence a distinct quantity by itself, separate from all other
proposed intelligent forces within the living body and the universe, or is
it in reality an occult extension of intelligent energy forces of
the universe? If we choose to see the thinking mind as an active,
functioning extension of the universal energy forces in operation, how
then are we to account for the existence of the ego-consciousness... a
person’s subjective feeling that he is an individual... that his
self-awareness or self-consciousness is an inseparable part of himself,
not a property interchangeable with that of another person?
These questions bring us to a theological crossroad where
we are presented with a choice of one of two fundamental concept-groups
relating to the ego and universal reality. The first group, represented by
monotheism, perceives the individual soul as being separate from a
universal God. Here, the individuality of the ego need not be explained.
This is because monotheistic doctrines postulate that the ego (the soul)
should exist as a separate entity created by a Unitarian God. (Postulates
cannot be questioned.) The second group, represented by pantheism,
forms the basis of many Eastern religious philosophies and also the
Theory of Intelligent Energy presented in this book. In Pantheism, the
individual soul is perceived as an integral part of a Unitarian Entity or
Universal Force. Here, it becomes necessary to offer a feasible
explanation as to how the intellectual ego can be isolated from a
Unitarian Universal Entity and at the same time be a part of this same
Universal Entity as well.
A pantheistic proposal explaining the individuality of the
ego will be presented in the next chapter. But, before coming to this, it
is necessary that the reader should first be acquainted with a fundamental
knowledge of the human brain, which includes the basics of brain anatomy,
brain function and certain current unresolved issues arising from the
study of this enigmatic organ. Only then will the reader be better able to
appreciate the logic behind the arguments I have put forward in the
proposal mentioned above.
BRAIN ANATOMY AND FUNCTION
In an earlier chapter, we were shown how the nucleus of a
living body cell functions like the central processing unit (CPU) of a
computer. The brain too functions like the CPU of a computer. Whereas the
cell-nucleus with its DNA codes co-ordinates vital activities within the
body cell, the brain co-ordinates physiological activities within the
entire living body.
The components of the nervous system, which include the
brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves, form an intricate communication
network in the body. Information from the external environment is picked
up by the sensory receptors of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell.
Information is also picked up by receptors inside the body, e.g. organs,
tissues. Most of these messages are relayed through nerves leading to the
brain; some through reflex arcs (circuits that by-pass the higher centres
of the brain). The brain processes incoming information, then produces
appropriate responses that are relayed through outgoing nerves.
The human brain comprises of several functional units that
have emerged in progressive stages during evolution. In this chapter, we
shall concern ourselves mainly with the cerebrum, since it is this part of
the brain that has a direct bearing to the broad subject (intelligence,
consciousness) under study in this book.
The cerebrum is the most recent part of the brain to
evolve. In humans, it is highly developed. It is the seat of the
intellect, conscience, and self-awareness or ego. It is also within the
cerebrum that all external sensations are localised and analysed, and
where all voluntary responses of the body are initiated. Our highly
developed cerebrum confers upon us the faculty of logical and creative
thinking. Through its moderating influence on the lower brain centres, it
enables us to utilise judgement before performing our actions rather than
to rely primarily on instinct as animals on the lower scales of evolution
do.
Existing at evolutionary levels below that of the cerebrum
are various primitive brain units such as the thalamus, hypothalamus,
mid-brain, cerebellum, brain stem - functional units we share in common
with the lower vertebrates. The brain stem continues down to the spinal
cord. Peripheral nerves emerge from the spinal cord and are distributed
throughout the entire body.
Most of the brain’s functions occur below the level of
consciousness. It has been shown that, even during sleep, some 50,000,000
nerve messages are relayed to-and-fro every second between the brain and
various parts of the body. These represent intelligent communication
constantly taking place between the brain and the body in maintaining the
vital state of the person. The important point to note here is, whether
the person is conscious, subconscious or unconscious, intelligent forces
are at work inside his brain directing activities within his body with
precision and purpose... intelligent brain forces distinct from that of
the intellect, that sublime property of the brain dominating human
brain-activity at the conscious level.
The principal cells of the nervous system are called
neurones. The nervous system contains over 13 billion neurones, of which
10 billion are found within the brain unit alone. In the brain, each
neurone has delicate fibrils projecting from its surface. These fibrils
are called dendrites. Brain neurones interconnect with one another through
their dendrites. Dendrites are like electrical wiring circuits. They serve
as communicating channels between neurones. Each neurone also has a single
long projecting fibre called the axon. This varies in length from a few
millimetres to a metre. Axons contribute to the network of nerve relays
carrying messages and signals throughout the nervous system.
Apart from neurones, the brain also has supporting
connective tissue cells called neuroglia or glial cells. Glial cells have
no dendrites. It is widely believed that they serve as food and energy
suppliers to the neurones.
The brain is electrically active. Long before modern
scanning devices became available, studies were already being carried out
on this electrical activity through the exploration of different areas of
the brain using probes or electrodes connected to an EEG machine.
(Electroencephalogram). Even at rest, each neurone carries a small
electrical voltage. When a neurone is stimulated, its chemical content is
altered causing a change in its electrical voltage. The difference in
voltage between the stimulated cell and the one adjacent to it creates an
electrical gradient producing a flow of electric current running from the
former to the latter. The flow of current from one neurone to another is
not continuous. There is a gap at the junction of a nerve fibre and the
cell body of the adjacent connecting neurone. This gap is called a
synapse. The synapse contains several chemicals (neuro-transmitters)
that inhibit or propagate the transmission of electrical signals across
the synapse. The synapse is the site where the flow of electrical energy
is briefly interrupted as it is converted into chemical energy. It
functions like a switch in an electrical circuit.
Studies on electrical activities within the brain have
enabled researchers to map out areas in the cerebrum that correspond to
areas of body-function. All in-coming signals are received at the sensory
cortex located in the posterior area of the cerebrum. These electrical
signals are then relayed to and are processed in other parts of the
cerebrum, finally ending up in the frontal cortex of the cerebrum where
they attain full meaning and cognition. Outgoing signals to the body are
dispatched from the motor cortex of the cerebrum (located in front of the
sensory cortex).
Certain areas in the cerebrum remain yet a mystery to us.
These, known as the ‘silent areas’, are located in the frontal lobes,
sides and back of the cerebrum. For some inexplicable reason, these areas
are electrically inactive. It is widely believed that it is in these
silent areas that we ‘know’ ourselves and where the home of the brain’s
ego and intellect is located.
People usually think of brain-function in terms of
electrical activity, forgetting the important role played by chemistry in
this area. We have seen how chemicals in the blood - through a feedback
dialogue between the body and the brain through these chemicals - assist
in regulating the composition of the extracellular fluid in the body. From
the pharmaceutical industry, we have drugs (chemicals) that put people to
sleep, drugs that keep them awake, drugs that excite people, drugs that
depress them, drugs that produce hallucinations or delusions, etc. Brain
cells also produce their own chemicals, e.g., the neuro-transmitters
serotonin, acetylcholine nor-adrenaline, endorphin.... to name a few. Up
to date, about 100 different neuro-transmitters have been identified.
BRAIN INTELLIGENCE: A THEORY
When viewed under a microscope, neurones are seen
inter-linked through a network of bridges formed by tentacles of dendrites
projecting from cell bodies of neurones. This maze-like appearance must
draw one’s attention to a parallel it shares with molecular linkages and
computer circuits. Earlier, it was suggested that molecular linkages
perhaps serve as bridges permitting the flow of electromagnetic energy
organized into code patterns that carry intelligent meanings in the
material state. If true, then it would seem equally likely that dendritic
linkages might also serve in a similar way, viz., by creating channels for
the flow of electricity, forming dendritic code patterns representing
intelligent dynamic activities within the brain.
The parallel between the brain and a computer is indeed
striking, so much so that the brain has often been referred to as a
bio-computer. The fact that both systems are activated by electricity
underscores this similarity. In those days before computers came onto the
scene, the nervous system was often compared to a telegraph or
telephone-communication system... systems that also operate on
electricity. Like-comparisons of this kind might have served to transfix
the impression within our minds that all brain functions, including
brain-intellect, are generated by electricity passing through circuits of
interconnecting brain cells. In other words, neuronal electrical circuits
are generally thought to be responsible for creating intelligent code
patterns within the brain.
Granted, interconnecting neurones within the brain are
wiring circuits theoretically capable of conveying and shaping electrical
signals into intelligent codes; I have strong reason to suspect, however,
that the intrinsic intelligent codes for several key brain attributes
might not be created solely through these circuits. The ego and the
intellect, representing those qualities of the brain that distinguish one
person from another... his personality, thoughts, creativity, perceptive
ability, memory capacity... are attributes, I believe, that operate
through a system of codes not conducted exclusively through neuronal
circuits. This view may be unorthodox, but surprisingly, I have come
across medical evidence in support of it:
Many years ago, a girl whom I shall refer to as Karen (not
her true name) was born suffering from congenital hydrocephalus, a
condition at birth where there is progressive accumulation of fluid within
the brain-ventricles due to an outflow defect. (Brain ventricles are
hollow spaces within the brain containing fluid that cushions brain
tissues against shock). In congenital hydrocephalus, the excessive fluid
in the brain-ventricles exerts outward pressure, compressing the
surrounding brain tissues against the skull, and in severe cases, forcing
the soft newborn skull into hideous distension. Brain cells under
compression gradually die causing the afflicted subject to suffer from
progressive mental deterioration.
Not long after Karen was born, a new surgical shunting
procedure was tried out on selected cases of hydrocephalus. This involved
implanting a tiny drainage tube that diverted excessive fluid out of the
distended brain ventricles back into the blood circulation. At that time
when Karen was subjected to this operation, it was thought that surgical
intervention had probably come a little too late. It was assumed that her
brain had already suffered some degree of irreparable damage from fluid
compression and that, at best, successful surgery would only arrest
further progressive damage to her brain.
But Karen confounded all those who had been following her
medical progress through her growing years. At school, she behaved and
performed like any average student in her age group. She even excelled in
a number of areas, making it seem as if the spectre of her congenital
defect had been completely exorcised from her. If her brain did suffer
from any degree of dysfunction, this was not apparent to those around her.
To all outward appearances, Karen was as normal as any ordinary girl could
be.
Strangely however, follow-up studies on Karen revealed
findings that were anything but ordinary. Here, all similarities with
normal persons ended. Her brain-ventricles showed gross enlargement,
occupying a greater part of the cranial space. Her cerebral cortex (grey
matter) was reduced to a thinned-out wasted strip at the periphery of the
brain. Scanning studies carried out on her brain turned up more surprises.
Her cerebrum showed greatly diminished electrical activity, and the little
that was present was confined mostly to one small area located at the
posterior part of her cerebral cortex. Going strictly by the medical
findings, it seemed almost impossible that Karen could have turned out to
be the average intelligent girl that she was!
The inexplicable findings in Karen’s case emphasise the
fact that we are still a long way from a true understanding of
brain-function. The absence of electrical activity over extensive areas of
the cerebral cortex of Karen’s brain seems to suggest that her ego and
intellect are either not dependent or at best only partially dependent
upon electrical circuits of interconnecting neurones. Here, we might
recall that even in the normal brain, there are certain areas in the
cerebral cortex that are electrically inactive. These are the ‘silent
areas’ of the frontal lobe and parts of the sides and back of the cerebrum
as described earlier. Notably, these are the very areas that are thought
to be the home of the ego and the intellect.
If, in keeping with popular belief, all intelligent brain
functions are somehow tied in with electrical codes operating within
circuits of interconnecting neurones, how then are we to account for the
virtual absence of electrical activities in the ‘silent areas’ of the
cerebral cortex... the same areas that are supposed to be the abode of a
very active intellect and ego? How are we to explain the enigma of Karen’s
brain, a thinking unit apparently possessing normal intelligent faculties,
yet displaying only minimal electrical activity centred upon one small
surviving area at the back of her cerebral cortex... an area perhaps no
larger than that of a chimpanzee’s brain?
At this juncture, we are left with no other recourse but
to feel our way around for logical answers to these questions. I, for one,
believe that the above-paradox could be resolved quite simply by assuming
that, in a normal brain, intelligent functions including the ego and the
intellect do not operate primarily through dendritic but through
molecular codes. In Karen’s case, this molecular code theory of
brain intelligence offers us a rational solution to the puzzle as to how a
brain depleted of so much of its brain cells during the nascent
development stage might still be able to proceed on to maturity possessing
normal and intact intelligent functions. The following hypothesis
elaborates on this concept:
In an earlier chapter, we were introduced to the term ‘cell
differentiation’. The early weeks of embryonic development feature
relatively undifferentiated neurones actively multiplying and establishing
dendritic links with one another. Time-lapse photography of brain tissue
cultures taken from a 16-week chimpanzee show tentacles of dendrites and
axons pushing their way through the tissues seeking to latch onto cell
bodies of nearby neurones. Growth-extensions of these dendritic
projections cease when inter-neuronal linkages have been established. At
this stage the neurones would have reached full maturity and
differentiation. A characteristic feature of fully differentiated neurones
in the human brain is, unlike most other body cells, they ‘forget’ how to
replicate. (Hence, in the adult brain, neurones lost through disease or
physical damage cannot be replaced by the natural biological process of
cell regeneration.)
In Karen’s brain, the gradual compression and damage to her
cerebral cortex could have taken place at the early nascent stage before
her brain cells had the chance to reach full differentiation. The
microscopic scenario within her brain at this developing stage might have
been that of young, surviving neurones reaching out with their dendrites,
seeking to create bridges of dendritic linkages by latching onto other
neurones but not finding enough of these to complete the network of
electrical circuits. Failing in this direction, her developing brain,
conceivably, could have fallen back onto molecular linkages (the
only other alternative circuits available) for linking together intrinsic
intelligent codes. The liaison or link-up between dendritic and molecular
coding pathways might have been initiated before her few surviving brain
neurones became fully differentiated. (In fully differentiated neurones,
dendritic growth ceases. It is unlikely that further dendritic link-ups
with alternative coding pathways could be possible after this.) This
hypothesis offers a plausible explanation as to why only scanty electrical
activities showed up in Karen’s brain scans. The intelligent codes within
her developing brain might have elected for outlets generated primarily
through molecular linkages, miniature circuits that do not occupy much
space.
Granted the posit above may be nothing more than the
product of wild imagination, but regardless of whether this posit is true
or false, one inescapable fact remains: Karen’s case stands before us as
irrefutable proof that the normal functioning of
a brain is not entirely dependent upon dendritic circuits of
interconnecting neurones.
Albert Einstein, the brilliant physicist of the last
century, may have unwittingly contributed to the support of the
molecular-linkage theory of brain-intelligence when he bequeathed his
brain posthumously to the cause of scientific research. If
brain-intelligence rests solely upon electrical circuitry of
inter-connecting neurones, then it will be expected that the brain of an
intelligent person like Einstein should show an increased neurone density
or at least neurones with more complex dendritic linkages as compared to
that of the average person. But histological studies of sections taken
from Einstein’s brain did not reveal this to be the case. Instead, one
distinctive feature stood out, viz., that there were many more neuroglial
cells to each neurone in Einstein’s brain compared to the brain of the
average person. If the reader will recall, neuroglial cells do not have
dendritic connections with neurones. It is believed that their primary
role in the brain is to provide nutritional support for the brain cells.
In other words, neuroglial cells are seen to play a chemical role
in the brain. Is this the key to the secret of Einstein’s extraordinary
scientific brilliance? Do supernumerary neuroglial cells provide
additional bridges of chemical linkages that enhance the brain’s
intellectual coding capabilities?
To digress a little, if inter-connecting neurones are not
absolutely required for the creation of intelligent code patterns in the
brain and nervous system, then why are they there in the first place? The
probable answer to this is, inter-connecting neurones serve as a rapid
transit system for the conveyance of signals or coded messages. Without
the neuronal connections of the nervous system, messages relayed between
brain cells, or brain cells and other body cells would have to rely
primarily on chemical means for conveyance, viz.,
messenger molecules
struggling across intercellular spaces or taking the slow route via the
blood circulation. While this slow method of communication may be adequate
for coping with most vital body functions, it would not suffice in certain
urgent situations. For instance, if a hot object were to come in contact
with a limb, a fast reflex withdrawal of the limb is necessary to protect
the area of contact against irreparable damage. This would not be possible
without the rapid transit system of inter-connecting neurones transmitting
signals at near-lightning speed.
In some situations, the living body uses both methods for
conveying messages. Take for example the fight-or-flight reaction of the
body when faced with danger: As described earlier, the first and urgent
response is mediated through the rapid transit system of inter-connecting
neurones. Here, messages from the frontal cerebral cortex are dispatched
rapidly through autonomic nerve pathways directly evoking ‘adrenergic’
physiological responses in the body. The second delayed response is
chemical... effected through the release of adrenaline compounds from the
adrenal glands into the blood stream and producing the same physiological
responses as those initiated by the brain through the autonomic nerves.
In this chapter, it was suggested that the brain’s
intrinsic intelligent activities operate through two separate but
complementary mechanisms: One is through electrical codes created within
neuronal circuits, and the other through chemical codes created within
molecular circuits. Upon closer examination, we will see that these two
mechanisms are actually inter-linked. A proposed link-up between these two
mechanisms goes like this:
Interconnecting neurones, as the conventional view goes,
provide the dendritic circuits that create intelligent electrical code
patterns in the brain. This circuitry is not rigid. Switches at the
synaptic junctions can rearrange and re-shape these code patterns. Every
second in our lives, millions of neurones are firing electrical impulses
within our brains. The intelligent messages or code patterns formed
through the brain’s dendritic electrical circuits will depend upon the
on/off positions of switches mediated by neuro-transmitters at the
synapses. Neuro-transmitters are chemicals. From this, we can see
that even electrical code patterns created within neuronal circuits must
be determined by chemical switches at the synapses. This is not the end of
the story. For a dendritic code to carry a specific meaning, chemicals at
synapses have to jointly make an intelligent selection. The
selection of switch positions involving millions or billions of synapses
cannot possibly be a random one. It has to be orchestrated by an
intelligent quantity within the brain... one that has to decide which
code patterns are to be formed...
which switches to operate. What is this
mysterious intelligent ‘quantity’ that lurks within the brain...
presumably one with a common denominator shared by both electricity and
chemistry?
The answer can only be --
electromagnetic energy.
So, with the introduction of the molecular theory of
intelligence in the material state, a recognisable picture begins to
unfold before us. The intelligent forces that operate within the brain,
and which are also responsible for the intellect and ego, are beginning to
emerge into view through the fog-shrouded cerebral convolutions. They
appear to take on the familiar form of electromagnetic signals busily
traversing the molecular/neuronal linkages of brain cells, actively
creating intelligent code patterns that stoke the furnaces of the mind.
Once again, as in our earlier encounters involving intelligent phenomena
elsewhere, we are able to recognise the intrinsic intelligence of the
brain for what it might really be... code patterns made up of a living,
dynamic force -- a force we have come to identify as electromagnetic
energy.
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