Online ISSN 2653-4983
Is Alzheimer’s Disease a Manifestation of Brain Quantum Decoherence Resulting from
Mitochondrial and Microtubular Deterioration?
T.W. Nichols1, M.H. Berman1 and J.A. Tuszynski 2,3
1 Quietmind Foundation, Philadelphia, PA, USA
2 Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
3 DIMEAS, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
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The etiology of Alzheimer's dementia is, at best multifactorial. Before the emergence of cognitive impairment, symptoms such as thinning of the cortex, accumulation of β-amyloid, and decreased hippocampal volume are common. Hence, the accumulation of β-amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau fibrillary tangles are two pathological hallmarks in Alzheimer's disease brains, but antibody therapy aimed to decrease β-amyloid has been a failure and, in most optimistic opinions, may delay somewhat disease progression. However, 31-38 % of subjects develop cerebral micro-hemorrhages in aducanumab therapy, an antibody to the amyloid beta plaque by Biogen. Genetics such as Apo E3/E3 have demonstrated defects in the blood-brain barrier in early-onset dementia...more
BRIEF REPORT
On the transition from a sense of self to actualizing an intention
R. R. Poznanski
Action potential forms part of neural activity, but what is neural action? The generalization of specific cognitive tasks as neural cannot work, so we must individualize them, for example, intentions in action. However, the question arises: are intentions in the action part of the neural activity in the electro-ionic brain or perhaps hidden deep in the EM brain where ionization is absent? This has important implications for the experience of acting out a thought, such as subjectivity intentionality is not decipherable through neuroimaging and cannot be a viable instrument for intentions. We propose that ionization drives the transition from experience to intentions and that the experience is hidden in the unconscious and not decipherable using modern brain neuroimaging technology. The intentions are sensed through attention as feelings spontaneously and do not provide a window to subjective intentionality and its pathology in psychopathic cases.
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PERSPECTIVE
What does it mean to understand consciousness?
Charles Capaday​
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There are three principal views on the relation between mind and body. Cartesian dualism posits that mind is of a different nature than matter, read the brain, but that they have mutual causal influences, by unspecified mechanisms. Epiphenomenalism posits that the mind is, by unspecified mechanisms, a byproduct of the brain’s physical activity, but has no influence on it. Implicitly, in this view there is no free will. The mind-brain identity theory posits that the mind and the brain’s physical activity are the same, without explanation of how mental activity can be the same as physical activity. Presumably in the latter two views what is meant by the brain’s physical activity is specifically its neural activity, for there is far more in the brain’s physical activity than neural activity, a point seldom considered. I have made it clear that in all three cases there are no physical, or non-physical, explanations of the relation of the mind to brain. The eminent 19th century physicist John Tyndall made the point to the Mathematical and Physical Section of the British Association in 1868 that, for example, if love were to be found to be associated with a right-handed ...
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Conductive polypyrrole/chitin conduit with electric stimulation for nerve regeneration
Haishan Jiao, Jian Huang, Ying Chen, Yuening Song, and Dongyin Li
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PPy/chitin composite conduits (CAP) were fabricated by tube casting using chitosan blended with microemulsion polymerized nano-PPy, which was modified by acetylation. Chitin conduits (CA) modified by acetylation from chitosan conduits without PPy were also prepared. Both CAP and CA conduits were used to bridge sciatic nerve defects with or without ES. Autologous nerve transplantation was used as a positive control. Electrophysiological and histological methods were measured. We found that: (1) injured nerve bridged with conduit and ES had improved regeneration compared with that bridged with conduit without ES; and (2) conductive conduit combined with ES was more effective in promoting nerve regeneration compared with non-conductive conduit, but was similar to autologous nerve. Our findings demonstrate that conduits of PPy/chitin conductive composite exhibit favorable properties for clinical use by promoting nerve regeneration and functional recovery.
REVIEW
Critical findings and Critical review on Motor Cortex Function and Organization
Charles Capaday
Three principal themes will be discussed in this review article. Firstly, I will review our current knowledge on the functional organization of the motor cortex (MCx), in particular the spatially reduplicated representation of single muscles intermingled with the representation of other muscles acting at the same or different joints. My purpose here is to make it clear that single unit recordings during behaviors from unidentified sites in the MCx can never reveal the causal link between neural activities and motor output. To this end I will show simulation results based on published datasets of neural activities recorded during planar arm movements made by monkeys and MCx muscle output maps to demonstrate the point. Secondly, the issue of the nature of MCx intracortical connectivity will betaken up. Cortical points not only contain an intermingled representation of single muscles, but they are also linked by lengthy intracortical axonal arbors. There are two prevailing views on the issue. One has it that cortical points are connected point-to-point by clustered synaptic terminations. The other has it that the intracortical connectivity is such as to contiguously bind together a variety of muscle representations. The evidence for each view will be presented. The point will be made that, at least for the cat MCx, given that labeled single neurons do not have clustered synaptic terminations, but rather that the synaptic boutons are mainly of the‘en passant’ type, it is difficult to see how they can make specific point-to-point connections. Thirdly, Graziano’s group has hypothesized ...
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Neurobiological circuits of anxiety in ASD: Understanding challenges
L. A, Cacha
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ASD does not include anxiety as one of its core features, which has its own unique and additional level of complexity. The prevalence of anxiety disorder is not considered a core characteristic, yet majority of individuals with autism exhibit clinically elevated levels of anxiety or suffer from at least one anixiety disorder, including obessive-compulsive disorder. An individual who is anxious is more likely to suffer from excessive negative emotions, which are indicative of potential dysfunctions within the brain systems responsible for regulating negative emotions. Anxiety is believed to have a neurobiological component, and studies have long been conducted to determine how its arousal impacts behavioral development in typical situations. An overview of the role of the prefrontal cortex in modulation of amygdala function is presented in this paper, as well how differences in amygdala and prefrontal cortex connectivity may play a role in influencing the presentation of anxiety syndrome in the context of autism spectrum disorder.