Postscript - Brain Theory from a Circuits and Systems Perspective - page 175

As if the count of brain neurons were not high enough, there continues a search
for deeper computational power inside the neuron, hoping to find logical
capabilities among molecules and electrons. An interesting proposal explored in
this topic is that electrons are available in postsynaptic regions, and indeed are
necessary to synchronize presynaptic actions, not just for one synapse, but for all of
them [ 4 ]. Another interesting proposal considers subneural quantum computing [ 5 ].
Lacking scientific verification of an interneural quantum system, this topic has
suggested the prescientific possibility that internal molecules may actually serve as
simulated qubits, doing much but not all of what quantum particles do.
Much has been written about the meaning of consciousness, that is, subjective
consciousness that is limited to the creature that experiences it. However this topic
tends to avoid consciousness as a philosophical issue. Instead this topic simply
equates consciousness to short-term memory, that is, common persistent memory
that permits one to remember briefly sensory images, sights, sounds, and recalls.
The focus of this topic is on stream of consciousness, a deep-rooted concept
developed by such authors as James Joyce and psychologist William James.
Stream of consciousness is a result of sensory inputs and associative memory
recalls as laid out in this topic. In order to synthesize a neural system, a goal of this
topic, it was absolutely necessary to go beyond current dogma concerning circuits
in general and neural networks in particular. For instance, circuits are not limited to
networks of wire as circuit societies prefer to emphasize, and neural networks are
not limited to weighted synapses and activation functions, which are merely a
limited form of neural logic known as enabled logic in this topic.
The “Neural Circuits and Neural Systems” Point of View
Obviously the brain is more than a collection of molecules, although one might
think otherwise given the current popularity of molecular biology and biochemis-
try. This topic views the brain as a connected system of neurons, not just a simple
system that is spoken of in the abstract, but a specific complex circuit of neurons
whose purpose is to chain together and to purposefully blend a wide assortment of
neural pulses. As in any electrical system, pulses are subject to the laws of circuits
and systems. For instance, they propagate along a path at a given rate, transferring
charge predictably. Overall, none of the established laws of physics can be violated
by a brain, since it exists in the physical world.
Unfortunately, proposals occasionally ignore the laws of circuits and systems, or
so it seems, possibly because the proposals are incomplete. For instance, it is
technically amiss to postulate memory centers in dendrites, without saying exactly
how an associative search brings these elements to consciousness. Equally unsuit-
able is failing to explain how an image is committed to memory at the instantaneous
speeds that people commonly experience during memorization. The point is, rules
apply, for instances, connectivity applies, meaning that every subsystem must have