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 I had one big question during and after our discussion of the nervous system: which comes first, input or output? If we began with a model in which an input generates an output, obviously the input precedes the output, even if multiple inputs yield the same output or a single input gives rise to multiple outputs. Once you throw in the features that some inputs don’t result in any output or that some outputs happen spontaneously without any input, things get complicated. For instance, how do we know that the inputs that don’t generate outputs aren’t generating outputs we can’t/haven’t observe? How do we know that those “spontaneous outputs” aren’t the result of inputs we can’t/haven’t observed? While the model we talked about in class is “less wrong” than the ones we began class with, I’m not convinced it is accurate to include the idea of spontaneous output. There are so many factors that affect our nervous system that it seems unlikely that any behavior of the nervous system would happen without at least some sort of input. 

 The two examples of outputs for the sake of getting inputs that I can remember were flirting and breathing. I don’t think either of those could occur without some input first. People tend to flirt with someone they find attractive in some way, even if they don’t realize it consciously. Input: That person is attractive. Output: Flirt. The same thing is true of breathing. Even though we can breathe both voluntarily and involuntarily, the process is driven by a need to exchange gasses in the body. Input: I need oxygen. Output: Inhale. Input: I need to get rid of carbon dioxide. Output: Exhale. Both flirting and breathing can operate as part of feedback loops of the nervous system, but I remain unconvinced that the outputs can occur spontaneously. That is, I think that the loops ultimately begin with an input. I’m willing to believe that it is possible for some outputs of the nervous system to happen without input, but I will need to see some better examples.

 On a different note, I saw this video awhile ago and I thought of it during our discussion of the structure of the brain. It’s amazing what mice can teach us about our own brains! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5nMsXg1Lk