tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post2426837001379295569..comments2023-10-08T07:03:08.789-05:00Comments on AK's Rambling Thoughts: The Nature of the NeocortexAKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10905636789614137068noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-48863012886836583092011-06-04T00:10:09.974-05:002011-06-04T00:10:09.974-05:00Neocortex is a part of the brain of mammals, the n...Neocortex is a part of the brain of mammals, the neocortex consists of the grey matter, or neuronal cell bodies and unmyelinated fibers, surrounding the deeper white matter in the cerebrum. It allowed primates and especially humans to evolve new functional areas of neocortex that are responsible for enhanced cognitive skills such as working memory, speech, and language. Thanks a lot!Acls certificationhttp://www.healthedsolutions.com/courses/acls-certificationnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-71501385637250215042010-11-08T07:49:54.887-06:002010-11-08T07:49:54.887-06:00Thank you for your comment, Paul. I think, howeve...Thank you for your comment, Paul. I think, however, you're reading some of your own thoughts into my work, as I don't necessarily think the 6-layer structure is actually necessary for true intelligence. The structure used by archosaurs and birds, for instance, may well be equally suitable given the proper evolutionary environment and selective pressures.<br /><br />The actual purpose of the post was to provide background for later posts on related subjects, where including explanations of the neocortex in the text of the post would make it too long. (Several are in work, although I'm finding it hard to free up the time for them.) I wouldn't have done this post if I'd been able to find something like it already.<br /><br />I am glad you found it of interest.AKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10905636789614137068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-58324885026072014652010-11-02T20:56:52.349-05:002010-11-02T20:56:52.349-05:00A nice survey, and many good recent references (th...A nice survey, and many good recent references (though you make rather heavy weather of the inside-out development). But you make no real attempt to answer the implicit question you raise at the start: why is neocortex, in particular, necessary for true intelligence? This is of course the nub of the matter, into which the details you cite must eventually fit. I don't blame you for evading this issue: it is probably the most difficult in the whole of science, since it asks how "understanding" is possible.<br />My colleagues and I have made a bit of progress on this tough nut (see syndar.org). Our idea is extraordinarily simple (though rather complicated in practice): we think that the special 6-layered structure does a type of neural "proofreading", comparable to that underlying accurate dna replication (the basis of life).Paul Adamshttp://syndar.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-69554926298926380832009-08-10T15:20:09.432-05:002009-08-10T15:20:09.432-05:00Thanks for your comment, neurobiotaxis.
I am not ...Thanks for your comment, neurobiotaxis.<br /><br />I am not aware of any suggestions that the "<i>dorsal and dorsolateral pallial structures in crocodilians are homologous to the neocortex</i>", outside of suggestions that the wulst in archosaurs and birds is also holologous (which I've covered: it seems to be independent). My reason for excluding crocodilians was that they are too closely related to birds, thus they are too likely to have developed their "<i>dorsal and dorsolateral pallial structures</i>" away from the ancestral condition (towards a DVR/wulst structure) to be used for "primitive" comparisons.<br /><br />I'd certainly appreciate any (peer-reviewed) references claiming such homology (independent of any claimed homology for the wulst). If you have links I'd appreciate them, but don't waste time searching them out, I have resources in that direction and a cite would do fine.<br /><br />AKAKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10905636789614137068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-74875016280559246762009-08-10T12:07:04.125-05:002009-08-10T12:07:04.125-05:00Very very nice post. As Don said, "I find mys...Very very nice post. As Don said, "I find myself starring more and more of your articles" (replace "starring" by "sharing in GReader").<br />Just one thing: if dorsal and dorsolateral pallial structures in crocodilians are homologous to the neocortex, then you cannot say that the neocortex is a "mammalian invention". Granted, it has been expanded and made much more complex when mammalians arose, but to say that there is anything "neo" about "neocortex" is under controversy ever since comparative neuroanatomy begun...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-8394850476855559452009-07-20T09:22:20.159-05:002009-07-20T09:22:20.159-05:00Thank you all. I've been offline since Saturd...Thank you all. I've been offline since Saturday evening (usually am), so now is my first time to respond.<br /><br />And for those who donate(d), thanks to you as well. I hope everyone with blogs set(s) up a link, the attention means a lot to me as well as the money.AKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10905636789614137068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-50439322098595404102009-07-19T14:02:55.833-05:002009-07-19T14:02:55.833-05:00Brilliant post. Who needs graduate school?Brilliant post. Who needs graduate school?Soul Searcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17155273402391915289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-2465408577556790532009-07-19T09:49:03.498-05:002009-07-19T09:49:03.498-05:00I find myself starring more and more of your artic...I find myself starring more and more of your articles. This is great article - a lot of detail that will take some time for me to go through, but is something even a non-specialist can follow. Really like the connections to other areas (e.g. snowball earth).Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138403518686972179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7994102333633449677.post-60175539193346427332009-07-19T03:57:24.469-05:002009-07-19T03:57:24.469-05:00Excellent post, I look forward to the next.Excellent post, I look forward to the next.Yisraelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08885507309271511826noreply@blogger.com