X-Message-Number: 24077 Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 09:35:15 -0400 From: Thomas Donaldson <> Subject: CryoNet #24060 - #24068 Hi everyone! It looks like I'll be too busy to enter into any Cryonet discussions for a while. You see, I'm once more deeply into putting together another issue of PERIASTRON. I will say that I have a source for statistics on brains, such as the number of neurons (which turns out to be estimated for human brains as 10^12 (not 10^10), number of synapses 10^15. It's THE COMPUTATIONAL BRAIN, by PS Churchland and TJ Sejnowski. Make of these numbers what you want. I will note that the point that our neurons individually and the number of neurons can both increase and decrease as we conduct our lives as ordinary humans --- not pathologically at all --- this point seems not to be discussed in this book. It may have only become strong after its publication, though it wasn't published all that long ago (1992). Right now NO neuroscientist would deny that we grow new neurons in our dentate gyrus (part of our hippocampus) and from the lining of our brain ventricles; and that at least some new neurons actually survive and take up the role of neurons. There is still argument about how extensive and important this phenomenon may be. Are those who argue against this idea desperately holding onto old truths, or continuing to hold out against modern fads? We will see. And if you want to continue arguing with me about how brains work, please be patient. I don't throw away any Cryonets just because I don't have time to read them. Best wishes and long long life for all, Thomas Donaldson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=24077