Is consciousness to be found in quantum processes in microtubules?

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I'm just posting information in the Alternative Theories forum. Anything wrong with that?

Have we become so hypocritical that information from reliable souces (published papers ) is not longer admissible even in AF?

You do realize that whoever places me on ignore, it is you who remains ignorant.....:eek:
 
DaveC426913 said:
And the Astronomy forum.
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Because I made a passing mention of microtubules as an example of the natural occurrence of the Fibonacci Sequence in Astronomy in general and Earth science ? You can't be serious.
As with Elvis' Parallelochron, ignorance is not always a bad thing.
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Elvis's parallellochron is the proposition of a single individual without any supporting evidence.
And I completely disagree with the notion that ignorance is ever a good thing. Unless it was a veiled ad hominem directed at my quest for knowledge......bah!

My desire to draw attention to the importance of microtubules in relation to "brain function" in general and "consciousness" is recognition of the current work by dozens of scientists (Hameroff is but one of many) who are exploring this very concept, with some very promising results. This can be verified by reading the links I provide.

With every observation I make, I always offer links to currently available information from reliable sources and in deference to several requests I am using the proper sub-forum to present my information.
But never "acceptable" and accompanied by ad hominem from several sources (you who you are) who even have the gall to advise me to stay away from this forum.

Even after I refrained from making any personal comments and just proceded with building a library of available knowledge of microtubules and their indispensible role in living organism as "information processors", to be ridiculed is unjust and prejudicial. I make no claim or take credit that any of this is my theory. My purpose is to draw attention to this very interesting area of scientific inquiry.

To compare this to Asexperia's personal proposal of a Parallellochrony is false in all respects and certainly not an indication of scientific objectivity. This is just plain prejudice, a telling indication of ignorance.

I better stop now before I vent what I really feel.
 
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continuing our quest;
Simple, But Powerful’ Model Reveals Mechanism Behind Neuron Development
These findings provide new details on how growth cone collapse is regulated during axon termination in vivo. The study also shows that RPM-1 signaling destabilizes nerve cell microtubules-large molecules that provide critical cell structure-to facilitate growth cone collapse and axon termination.

When the scientists looked at the relationship between RPM-1 and other regulators of microtubule stability, they were surprised by the results.
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They found that that while RPM-1 signaling destabilizes axon microtubules, the microtubule stabilizer Tau potentially inhibits RPM -1, something that was previously unknown. “People have very little knowledge about how TAU works under normal physiological conditions,” says TSRI Research Associate Melissa Borgen, PhD, first author of the study.
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neuron-development-neurosciencneews-public.jpg
At the heart of this process is a specialized structure on the end of each axon called a growth cone. Successful development depends on the growth cone stopping at the correct destination and when the axon is the correct length, a process known as axon termination. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
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https://neurosciencenews.com/neuron-development-model-8204/
 
I bet he doesn't though.

In a while he'll be back, blithering on as before about micro-sodding-tubules, hive minds, functions and potentials.
 
Of course it must be said that it is pertinent to the OP question.....:)

But, we aim to please...:rolleyes:
 
In furtherance of the discussion in "Where do thoughts come from", in the Parapsychology thread.

 
@ James R,

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick.

True, but also; "you need to believe something before you can see it." - Anil Seth
 
According to Anil Seth, memory is crucially important in our ability to perceive and make sense of the stream of information entering our conscious processing centers.
We only experience the world as a stream of elctro/chemical bits of information and it is our memory that matches this information with prior saved information to allow us to "perceive" what we are looking at, or hearing.

Our brain has no direct access to the external world at all and only receives second hand information from which it must make sense, a "best guess".

It occurs to me that the vast areas of the brain which seem relatively dormant is actually the "warehouses" of stored memories which the brain uses to match incoming information. The HD of the brain containing trillions of stored bits and bites, which it uses to construct an internal image from incoming information and is verified visually or auditory in a cycle of "controlled hallucinations".

It is the collective memory which creates the "self" and the self's relationship to the external world as well as to its own body, which allows the self to move about and manipulate things and must be maintained for maximum efficiency.

Every time I watch Seth's lectures (he speaks fast) I seem to understand the process he describes at a little deeper level. For me this is truly a journey of discovery of the mind, the self, and my relationship to the external world.

It also allows me to get deeper insight into animal brains, which must function similar to mine, but oriented to a different, simpler reality than mine. But mammals are by no means primitive. That's reserved for lesser species such as bacteria.

 
Another example of th brain's attempt to make sense of incoming information.

Credit: David Novick, used with permission

illusion_colorballs_stripes.jpg

Those of you familiar with my writing already know what’s coming, and you’re right: Those balls in the image are all identical in color and shading.
illusion_colorballs_blank.jpg

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/another-brain-frying-optical-illusion-what-color-are-these-spheres

This is not just a curiosity. It ask how and why does the brain perceive the balls as having different volors.
The answer is in the "best guess" processing of "relative values" of incoming information which the brain must translate against its stored memory.
 
This is a perfect example of Anil Seth: "believing is seeing"

That one is by master illusion creator Akiyoshi Kitaoka, and perusing his site is basically a hammer-blow to your perception that "seeing is believing."
illusion_bluegreen_spiral.jpg


The blue and green spiral arms are the same color!
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This is really an astounding website to test your mind

http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html

If that is hard to believe, in the left lower corner, cover everything except the single blue and green lines at left bottom. Your mind will be able to experience the same color green. When viewing the entire picture your mind will refuse to match the two spirals. It's best guess is just not good enough, but it is a result of functional processes.

 
Excellent website with references to the role of microtubules in a host of information processing.

https://www.pnas.org/search/microtubules content_type:journal

Artificial microtubules burst with energy
Among the multitude of biological machines that nature employs to keep the cell operational, molecular motor proteins are certainly among the most captivating. These proteins convert chemical energy into mechanical work and drive most forms of motion (1). Cytoplasmic motors, for example, are proteins that move along a track and can transport cargo or induce muscle contraction.
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Beside these types of linear motion, rotary motion is ubiquitous. It occurs, for example, in flagella, which propel bacteria, or in ATP synthase, the protein that creates ATP. Alternatively, polymerization motors, such as actin filaments or microtubules, generate force by their assembly or disassembly.
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To understand the dynamics of the living cell, as well as to create increasingly complex artificial systems, chemists strive to construct artificial molecular motors and machines. In PNAS, Fredy et al. (2) present an innovative design that combines molecular motion with supramolecular chemistry to build a light-powered self-assembled machine in which energy is accumulated and released. This induces a mechanical effect that mimics the pulling force of microtubule disassembly.
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https://www.pnas.org/content/114/45/11804
 
Write4U said:
This is a perfect example of Anil Seth: "believing is seeing"

That one is by master illusion creator Akiyoshi Kitaoka, and perusing his site is basically a hammer-blow to your perception that "seeing is believing."

This is really an astounding website to test your mind

http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html

If that is hard to believe, in the left lower corner, cover everything except the single blue and green lines at left bottom. Your mind will be able to experience the same color green. When viewing the entire picture your mind will refuse to match the two spirals. It's best guess is just not good enough, but it is a result of functional processes.
Click to expand...

Apart from possibly a few aberrant individuals that certain illusions may not affect, it further attests to most humans being equipped with the same "operating system" when it comes perceptual representations (which includes "bad guess" appearances being universal or inter-subjective). We aren't rendering patterns of environmental energies into radically differing materializations of an external world due to acquired variables like language, politics, cultural orientations and group self-interests, etc (postmodern or continental philosophy hyperbole carried to extreme). A shared world has objective aspects which can be abstracted from it, it outruns the individual even if the phenomenal and intellectual evidence for it only has concomitancy with skulls or is produced by brains.
 
C C said:
A shared world has objective aspects which can be abstracted from it,
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Indeed, as Seth observes when we all agree on our "controlled hallucinations" (best guesses), we call that reality.
But our perception of self consist of experiential sets of self, such as:

Bodily self
Perspectival self
Volitional self
Narrative self
Social self.

And any of these selves can come apart and affect the other sets. IOW, the whole is a rather fragile construct, which requires constant monitoring.

This is the short version of Seth's lecture on "Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality". Good stuff.
 
Another tid-bit.

Microtubules Are Essential for Mitochondrial Dynamics–Fission, Fusion, and Motility–in Dictyostelium discoideum
Our results indicate that microtubules are essential for mitochondrial movement, as well as fission and fusion; actin plays a less significant role, perhaps selecting the mitochondria for transport. We also suggest that CluA is not a linker protein but plays an unidentified role in mitochondrial fission and fusion. The significance of our work is to gain further insight into the role the cytoskeleton plays in mitochondrial dynamics and function. By better understanding these processes we can better appreciate the underlying mitochondrial contributions to many neurological disorders characterized by altered mitochondrial dynamics, structure, and/or function
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27047941
 
In relation to vision;

Microtubule Imaging Reveals Cytoskeletal Deficit Predisposing the Retinal Ganglion Cell Axons to Atrophy in DBA/2J
Conclusions
Collectively, the results indicate that the breakdown of MTs is pathology of glaucoma and likely a precursor of morphological atrophy. Based on a new finding that SHG density is highly variable and spatially discrete, a new model of RGC degeneration is proposed. This study validates SHG retinal imaging for elucidating the role and mechanism of MT deficiency in the course of glaucoma pathogenesis.
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6218151/
 
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