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<p><font size="-1"><font face="Arial">A recommended recent
additional reading:<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(16)30500-1">http://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(16)30500-1</a></font></font><br>
</p>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2016.11.24. 17:45, Pedro C. Marijuan
wrote:<br>
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<div>Dear Arturo, James, and FIS Colleagues,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the intriguing presentation. Maybe it is difficult to
make sense in depth of these curious topological views applied
to nervous systems function. In an offline exchange with the
authors I was arguing that the countless mappings among cerebral
areas, both cortical and subcortical, are almost universally
described as "topographical" and that the information related to
deformations, twisting, gradients, inversions, bifurcating
"duplications", etc. is not considered much valuable for the
explanatory schemes. However, just watching any of those
traditional "homunculus" described for both motor and
somatosensory mappings, the extent of deformations and
irregularities becomes an eloquent warning that something else
is at play beyond the strictly topographic arrangement. <br>
<br>
Now, what we are being proposed --in my understanding-- is sort
of an extra-ordinary cognitive role for crucial parts of the
whole topological scheme. Somehow, the projection of brain
"metastable dynamics" (Fingelkurts) to higher dimensionalities
could provide new integrative possibilities for information
processing. And that marriage between topology and dynamics
would also pave the way to new evolutionary discussions on the
emergence of the "imagined present" of our minds. Our
bi-hemispheric cortex so densely interconnected could also be an
exceedingly fine topological playground with respect to the
previous organizational rudiments in the midbrain (in
non-mammalian brains). Therefore, couldn't we somehow relate
emergent topological-dynamic properties and consciousness
characteristics?... <br>
<br>
In what follows am trying to respond the initial questions
posed:<br>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">1)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Could we use projections and mappings, in order to
describe brain activity?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">**Yes,
quite a bit; in my opinion, they are an essential ingredient
of complex brains.<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">2)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Is such a topological approach linked with previous
claims of old “epistemologists” of recent
“neuro-philosophers”?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">** At the
time being I am not aware of similar directions, except a few
isolated papers and a remarkable maverick working in late
1980s (Kenneth Paul Collins), with whom I could cooperate a
little (with his help, I prepared a booklet in Spanish) .<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">3)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Is such a topological approach linked with current
neuroscientific models?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">** I think
Collins was a (doomed, ill-fated) precursor of both the
topological ideas and the quest for dynamic optimization
principles, somehow reminding contemporary ideas, eg, the
great work of Alexander and Andrew Fingelkurts, who are also
inscribed in the list for this discussion. <br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">4)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>The BUT and its variants display four ingredients,
e.g., a continuous function, antipodal points, changes of
dimensions and the possibility of types of dimensions other
than the spatial ones. Is it feasible to assess brain function
in terms of BUT and its variants?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">** I
think it should be explored. Future directions to investigate
this aspect could also contemplate the evolutionary changes in
central nervous system structures and behavioral/cognitive
performances.<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">5)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>How to operationalize the procedures?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">** Today's
research in connectomics can help. Some very new
neurotechnologies about cell-to-cell visualization of neuronal
activity and gene expression could also help for future
operationalization advancements. <br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">6)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Is it possible to build a general topological theory of
the brain?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">**
Topology, Dynamics, Neuroinformation and also elements of
Systems Biology and Signaling Science should go hand-with-hand
for that crazy purpose. <br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">7)<span
style="font-variant-numeric: normal;font-stretch:
normal;line-height: normal;font-family: 'Times New Roman';">
</span>Our “from afar” approach takes into account the
dictates of far-flung branches, from mathematics to physics,
from algebraic topology, to neuroscience. Do you think that
such broad multidisciplinary tactics could be the key able to
unlock the mysteries of the brain, or do you think that more
specific and “on focus” approaches could give us more chances?
<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">** In my
view, both the disciplinary specific and the multidisciplinary
synthetic have to contribute. Great syntheses performed upon
great analyses--and which should be updated after every new
epoch or new significant advancements. One of the founding
fathers of neuroscience, Ramón y Cajal, made a great
neuro-anatomical (and functional) synthesis with the elements
of his time at the beginning of the past century. It was
called the "doctrine of the neuron" and marked the birth of
modern neuroscience...<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Finally,
before saying goodbye, half dozen new Chinese parties from the
recent conference in Chengdu have joined the list; they have
ample expertise in neuroscientific fields and in theoretical
science domains. At their convenience, it would be quite nice
hearing from them in this discussion.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">Greetings
to all, and thanks again to Arturo and James for their valiant
work,<br>
</p>
<p style="text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1">--Pedro </p>
</div>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-------------------------------------------------
Pedro C. Marijuán
Grupo de Bioinformación / Bioinformation Group
Instituto Aragonés de Ciencias de la Salud
Centro de Investigación Biomédica de Aragón (CIBA)
Avda. San Juan Bosco, 13, planta 0
50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Tfno. +34 976 71 3526 (& 6818)
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pcmarijuan.iacs@aragon.es">pcmarijuan.iacs@aragon.es</a>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://sites.google.com/site/pedrocmarijuan/">http://sites.google.com/site/pedrocmarijuan/</a>
------------------------------------------------- </pre>
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