Michael Levin: "Non-neural, developmental bioelectricity as a precursor for cognition"

Politics and Social Issues
1

:woozy_face: :face_with_spiral_eyes: :exploding_head:

Oct 11, 2021

Plenary Talk by Michael Levin on “Non-neural, developmental bioelectricity as a precursor for cognition: Evolution, synthetic organisms, and biomedicine” at the Virtual Miniature Brain Machinery Retreat, September 16, 2021. Introduction by William Baker. Michael Levin Director of the Allen Discovery Center Tufts University.

Seems to me that pretty well blows up Chalmer’s charming Hard Problem - time for philosophers to start from scratch and up their game, it’s not the Middle Ages anymore. :yum:
.
Amazing and fascinating, fascinating hell, utterly mind blowing from the perspective of better appreciation our bodies and the pageant of evolution that created us and all its folds within folds.

Write, here’s one reason why I don’t like the grand answers or that laser focus on microtubules, there’s so much in between that we still don’t understand.
Check it out,

The next frontier for studying brain development and function lies in rationally deciphering, harnessing, and engineering the living 3D brain. The Miniature Brain Machinery (MBM) Program is an NSF-funded research traineeship that combines cognitive and behavior studies with brain cell and tissue biology studies to train the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce in advancing discovery.

We target PhD students with strong quantitative skills who are motivated to learn across the disciplines of neuroscience and engineering. Trainees work with our faculty and incorporate some form of research on brain organoids into their studies.

Amazing but also terrifying, because ruthless madmen will be playing with this science as the technology improves.

2

I shall and come back to discuss it.

Off-hand I see no reason to dismiss the “dipolar” microtubule as a bioelectric processor. It is what they do! There is no other conduit.

Note that microtubules do not need neurons to communicate and transport electrochemical data at an intra-cellular and inter-cellular level.
This non-neural communication at quantum levels is what intrigued Roger Penrose.

It is in effect what I have already been discussing.
Brainless, neuronless, single-celled organisms displaying signs of memory and rudimentary decision-making.

But hopefully, this new perspective may reinforce my conceptualization.
Exciting times!!!

4

[quote=“citizenschallengev4, post:1, topic:9936”]
Write, here’s one reason why I don’t like the grand answers or that laser focus on microtubules, there’s so much in between that we still don’t understand.
Check it out,

I promised to come back to this excellent video.

Let me select the example of "neural plasticity’ In that example of the catepillar transforming into a butterfly and the cellular change necessary for each stage to thrive. The change itself is facilitated by microtubules.

a) during the metamorphosis, microtubules are not destroyed but facilitate the growth of a new neural system that serves the special needs of each stage.
b) microtubules are not exclusive to neurons, but actually control the shape and intra-cellular and inter-cellular data transport.
c) Microtubules are present in every cell of Eukaryotic life on earth and perform a multitude of functions

Without a microtubule substrate, self-organizing intelligence would not, could not manifest itself.

Another example of proto-intelligence manifesting itself at fundamental physical levels

The single celled Paramesium itself can learn and remember. It has a microtubule network as its proto- brain. Evolution of the cytoskeleton and cytoplasm in multi-cellular organism did the rest.

image
image1732×1732 302 KB

Origin and Evolution of the Self-Organizing Cytoskeleton in the Network of Eukaryotic Organelles

Abstract

The eukaryotic cytoskeleton evolved from prokaryotic cytomotive filaments. Prokaryotic filament systems show bewildering structural and dynamic complexity and, in many aspects, prefigure the self-organizing properties of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton.

Here, the dynamic properties of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic cytoskeleton are compared, and how these relate to function and evolution of organellar networks is discussed. The evolution of new aspects of filament dynamics in eukaryotes, including severing and branching, and the advent of molecular motors converted the eukaryotic cytoskeleton into a self-organizing “active gel,” the dynamics of which can only be described with computational models.

> Advances in modeling and comparative genomics hold promise of a better understanding of the evolution of the self-organizing cytoskeleton in early eukaryotes, and its role in the evolution of novel eukaryotic functions, such as amoeboid motility, mitosis, and ciliary swimming.

> The eukaryotic cytoskeleton evolved from prokaryotic cytomotive filaments. But it has additional features (e.g., motor proteins) not found in prokaryotes.

more… Origin and Evolution of the Self-Organizing Cytoskeleton in the Network of Eukaryotic Organelles - PMC

Note that this brainless single cell can swim and learn to navigate via its microtubular driven “cilia” and “flagellum”