Re: Shocking Idea -- Nerves Might Run on Sound
- From: "mg" <mgkelson@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:59:59 -0600
"Gary" <none@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9l2af3lvsls6ogk03gcjq23pifjnvh0aeo@xxxxxxxxxx
I first posted this article a couple of months back. It
was greeted
with hoots of derision from our scientifically oriented
posters, so I
abandoned the thought. But after watching the birds that
have lived
in my backyard -- begin to slowly disappear for the
winter -- I
decided to re-read the article.
I think the Sound Theory opens up a way of explaining
things that have
been unexplainable. I've tried to accept the notion that
everything
in the Universe is based (in some way) on electric
impulses. But
that's nonsense. What was the first event in the history
of the
Universe ? The Big Bang. So Noise was the Genesis of
all life as we
know it. That certainly indicates it probably could
still be the
motivating force behind all living things in the universe
and on the
Earth. Surely that Big bang has not grown entirely
silent. Maybe
it must still be ricocheting through the Universe -
passing along it's
ancient wisdom. .
I think science is guilty of being a victim of the old
question --
"If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does
it make a
noise" ? Just because we don't hear it is no sign that
a noise does
not exist which may be heard by other living creatures.
I would propose that something in the living cell has
receptors that
can hear and process sound to the benefit of the host
organism. Take
the woodpeckers that left my yard last week for the first
time since
March. How did they know winter is approaching and it
was time to
head South ? All my life I have heard inane reasons
like --
(1) instinct (2) the days are getting shorter (3) solar
impulse
received by their brain.
Obviously it is "none of the above". How can a bird
know the days
are getting shorter if I have trouble noticing that fact ?
Do they
check their watches periodically ? Do they watch the
Weather
Channel ?
No ! But they could be hearing noise that is telling
them to head
South. Where would that noise be processed ? In the
brain or in
the cells ?
Suicides have always puzzled me. Why do people take
away their
most valued possession ? Reading a biography of an
author whose
work I respect, I learned that the reason he killed
himself was
because he had been hearing voices that told him to do so.
His book
had just been received to great reviews, he had
everything to live
for and as he was preparing to meet his publishers. He
went into a
bedroom and shot himself. We always dismiss "voices" as
a sure sign
of insanity. And well they may be. BUT -- maybe they
are also
sometimes picked up by sensitive brains from an outside
source we
don't understand.
Perhaps having ears prevents us from picking up the
quieter noise
heard by lower orders.
Think of all the sounds around us that we can't hear
unless we have
the proper listening device. Such as a radio or TV.
Maybe living
cells have a built in device.
Actually I have no answers at all. But I would love to
see a modern
day Newton or Galileo pick up this subject. I really
think there is
something there that will open up a new world of
understanding. And
possibly even the much sought after "fourth dimension".
Thanks,
Gary
---------------------------------------------------------------
A Shocking Idea: Nerves Might Run on Sound, Not
Electricity
Brandon Keim Email 06.11.07 | 2:00 AM
Most people know that nerves work by passing electrical
currents from
cell to cell. But you might be surprised to learn that no
one knows
exactly how anesthetics stop nerves from carrying pain
signals.
That's why two scientists believe that we really don't
know how nerves
work after all.
According to their controversial theory, electricity is
just a side
effect of how nerves really operate: by conducting
high-density waves
of pressure that resemble sound reverberating through a
pipe.
"Nerves are supposed to work like a series of electrical
transistors,"
said Andrew Jackson, a physicist at the Niels Bohr
Institute in
Copenhagen, Denmark. "This picture is at best flawed."
If correct, Jackson and Thomas Heimburg, a Niels Bohr
biophysicist and
co-author of a recent paper describing their theory, would
turn a
long-held (and Nobel Prize-winning) theory on its head.
Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley won the Nobel Prize in
physiology or
medicine in 1963 for describing the electric transmission
of impulses
along nerves -- a now widely accepted theory known as the
Hodgkin-Huxley model.
But Jackson and Heimburg say that the inability to explain
how
anesthesia works, combined with other counterintuitive
aspects of the
theory, mean that nerves don't rely on electricity to
carry messages.
For example, the Hodgkin-Huxley model still hasn't
accounted for
observations made a century ago by scientists Hans Meyer
and Charles
Overton. They demonstrated that the strength of an
anesthetic could be
predicted by its solubility in olive oil rather than its
chemical
structure. The more soluble the anesthetic, the stronger
it was.
Since olive oil is similar to the lipid molecules that
make up nerve
cells, Jackson and Heimburg started questioning the
generally accepted
belief that anesthetics block electrical pulses by fitting
themselves
into pain receptors on cells. That seems next to
impossible, they
said, because anesthetic molecules come in many shapes and
sizes, and
it's difficult to imagine that they all happen to
physically fit into
all receptors.
"That is about as likely as tossing a coin 1,000 times and
having it
come down heads every time," Jackson said.
Their theory, published in the Biophysical Journal,
explains how
nerves and anesthetics work as follows: Nerves are made of
lipids that
are liquid at body temperature. A yet-to-be-defined
mechanism creates
high-pressure, semisolid waves that move through the
cells, delivering
messages.
Anesthetics, they suggest, lower the temperature at which
lipids
become solid, making it difficult for the waves to form,
thereby
preventing nerves from sending pain signals. They also
suggest that as
the waves travel, they change the shape of the cell
membrane,
producing the electrical pulse that scientists currently
mistake for
the primary function of nerve cells.
The theory has not been well received. Few are convinced
that the
inexplicability of anesthetics is reason to dismiss the
Hodgkin-Huxley
model. One molecular biologist and ion channel expert even
refused to
comment on record about the theory because he found it too
preposterous.
"The fact that we don't know how anesthetics work make it
a nice
target for anybody with a new hypothesis," said Roderic
Eckenhoff, a
University of Pennsylvania molecular pharmacologist. "But
the
Hodgkin-Huxley model has been pretty well vetted."
The mystery of anesthetics, however, is not the only
inconsistency
that Jackson and Heimburg point out.
Another example is the fact that as electricity travels
through the
nerve, heat is released and then reabsorbed. This, said
Jackson,
contradicts the known behavior of electrical currents
through a
resistor.
"The heat generated by such a process is dissipated and
not
reabsorbed," he said.
Scientists say that until Jackson and Heimburg can provide
empirical
data to support their theory, it will remain a fringe
idea.
"I appreciate the place for theory in advancing science,
but the
weight of evidence is soundly on the side of electricity,"
said
Eckenhoff. "When they provide some experimental evidence
consistent
with their theory, that'd be great."
Jackson and Heimburg say that's exactly what they're
hoping will
follow the publication of their theory. "We hope that
people will
investigate the possibility," Jackson said.
If it turns out they're right, he said, "We might be able
to help
design cures for neurological problems and design better
anesthetics."
Meanwhile, the duo admit they very well might be wrong,
but they
believe their theory is worth testing.
"We might be wrong," Jackson said, "but we're not crazy."
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/06/nerve_communication
There is definitely some electrical functions going on in
the brain as evidenced by electroencephalogram (EEG)
measurements. Brain signals typically measure about 10-20
millivolts according to Wikipedia. I would guess that would
be enough voltage to mess up some sensitive electronic
devices when applied to the input of a differential
amplifier, for instance.
However, that doesn't mean that the electrical power isn't
being converted into sound, I guess, and then transmitted
from cell to cell. One of the problems that I see with
sound, however, is that it's difficult to contain. If you've
ever lived in an apartment, for instance, and tried to avoid
bothering your neighbors with your stereo, you know how
difficult it is to contain sound. On the other hand, the
electricity going through your walls, for example, is silent
and doesn't disturb anyone.
The human brain has about 100 billion neurons and 100
trillion synapses. So, it seems like there might be a lot of
acoustic noise going on in the brain's huge apartment
building, so to speak, that has to be contained so that it
doesn't disturb the neighbors.
.
- References:
- Shocking Idea -- Nerves Might Run on Sound
- From: Gary
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