ChatGPT continues to amaze me at its ability to reason with complex physical models and switching back and forth between nano technology and neurology. What are intralaminar astrocytes? Intralaminar astrocytes are a type of astrocyte cell that are found in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Astrocytes are star-shaped cells that provide structural and functional support to neurons in the brain. Intralaminar astrocytes are so named because they are found within specific layers (laminae) of the cerebral cortex. They are located within layers II and III, as well as in layer V of the cortex. These a ..read more

Are neuron membranes dialectric and do they act as a barrier to electrical fields ?  Yes, neuron membranes are dielectric and act as a barrier to electrical fields. Neurons are specialized cells that transmit electrical and chemical signals in the nervous system. The cell membrane of a neuron is composed of a lipid bilayer that separates the inside of the neuron from the extracellular fluid. The lipid bilayer is a dielectric material that resists the flow of charged particles, including ions, and creates a potential difference across the membrane. In addition to their role in electrical s ..read more

What percentage of time does an action potential take up in an average neuron?  The duration of an action potential in an average neuron is typically between 1 and 2 milliseconds (ms). The percentage of time that an action potential takes up in an average neuron depends on the firing rate of that neuron. Neurons can fire at different rates depending on their type and location in the nervous system, and the level of activity in the network of neurons they are connected to. For example, if an average neuron is firing at a rate of 10 spikes per second, each action potential will take up appr ..read more

A Model of Western Society  This is a second post on consciousness as the mechanism for calibrating Western society. The first post can be found here I’d like to present a simple model of Western Society. You have probably spoken about it many, many times, but have probably never put the big picture together. Understanding the bigger picture will help you to analyse, argue and communicate benefits and problems in society.  Western society is composed from six major self-calibrating systems. Each of these systems is based on the self-calibration of small changes and feedback from indi ..read more

The purpose of this post is to briefly describe the explusion of ions from ion channels. Ion expulsion is very important because ions are the source of electric and magnetic quasi static fields in the brain. Background A previous post has briefly looked at Ionophores (ion channels and ion pumps) and includes a paragraph on the expulsion of ions from ion channels.   Much of the discussion and research on ion channels has been about activation, gating and filtering of ions through ion channels. However it is of great importance to understand the expulsion of ions from ion channels beca ..read more

The purpose of this post is to briefly describe consciousness as a self-calibrating system within the functioning of other self-calibrating systems. The hypothesis is that consciousness is a real-time, self-calibrating system and the other self-calibrating systems ultimately rely on consciousness to maintain their function. Self Calibration Systems A number of systems have an emergent property that allows them to improve themselves through a process, I shall call, self-calibration. These systems have often been identified as “natural” or “bottom up” and are counter to “managed” or “top down” s ..read more

The purpose of this post is to describe how myelin sheaths may act as a neural magnetic hose, and in combination with a neural magnetic cloak may function as a neural magnetic wormhole. This combination could create a “consciousness shielding” or “conscious cloaking” from inspection or interference.  This post is part three of a three part series describing the possible function of magnetic fields formed by myelin sheaths.  The previous post looked at the magnetic properties of myelin sheaths. Magnetic Waveguides This discussion does not include the field magnonic waveguides, wh ..read more

The purpose of this post is to briefly describe some of the magnetic properties of myelin.  This post is part two of a three part series describing the possible function of magnetic fields in myelin sheaths. The previous post looked at the structure and distribution of myelin. The next post looks at whether myelin sheaths form magnetic hoses. Background Myelin is the part of non-neuronal glial cell that wraps around a neuron’s axon to form a layered sheath. Myelin from different cells forms a series of sheaths separated by a 1um gap call the Node de Ranvier. When the myelin wraps around a ..read more

The purpose of this post is to briefly describe some aspects of myelin sheaths structure and distribution.  This post is part one of a three part series describing the possible function of magnetic fields formed in myelin sheaths. The next post looks at the magnetic properties of myelin sheaths. Background  Myelin is the part of a glial cell that wraps around a neuron’s axon to form a layered sheath. In the central nervous system these glial cells are called oligodendrocytes, and in the peripheral nervous system these glial cells are called Schwann cells. Diagram (Poliak 2003) showi ..read more

The purpose of this post is to briefly describe quasi static magnetic fields formed by cylindrical arrays of perpendicular astrocytes and how they may form magnetic shields or magnetic cloaks. This post is part three of a three part series describing the possible function of quasi static magnetic fields formed by cylindrical arrays of astrocyte and glia. The previous post looked at calcium charges moving through perpendicular arrays of astrocytes. Background  There are two commonly described physical mechanisms that can form cylindrical magnetic fields. In one a cylindrical magnetic is co ..read more