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Raven's picture

brain: new ways of the thinking

 It seems the reason we have a difficult time investigating the brain is that the brain is the only structure in the human body which is structurally similar but does not behave uniformly from one healthy person to another. After writing this sentence I realized I wrote the ‘brain behaves’ as if it were it’s own entity separate from the body.

Although the concept seems strange that our nervous system not only computes inputs to outputs, but creates out puts on its own, it makes sense. It seems that these automatic inputs received from the brain itself function as an auto mode. Certain things to keep us running without the brain having to “think” hard to keep our heart pumping. But this definitely contradicts most scientific thought, including that of Newton and the era of biology which preceded this one. Things such as the lock and key fit theory of enzyme-substrate interaction are being replaced with the more contemporary theory that an induced fit model is more likely. People stop thinking of molecular signalling pathways as linear and now the current thought accepts that these biological molecules actually function as networks and various highway systems that all interact with each other. So it seems that as time progresses we may be more accepting of new thoughts on brain and behavior. 

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