Epigenetics and the connectome

Sebastian Seung: I am my connectome (TED talks video)

Why you should listen to him:

“In the brain, neurons are connected into a complex network. Sebastian Seung and his lab at MIT are inventing technologies for identifying and describing the connectome, the totality of connections between the brain’s neurons — think of it as the wiring diagram of the brain. We possess our entire genome at birth, but things like memories are not “stored” in the genome; they are acquired through life and accumulated in the brain. Seung’s hypothesis is that “we are our connectome,” that the connections among neurons is where memories and experiences get stored.

My comments after listening to him:

In twenty minutes, you can learn more than you might otherwise learn from any series of college textbooks on the topics he integrates.

see also My connectome, myself

“The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each of which is connected to many others. Neuroscientists believe these connections hold the key to our memories, personality and even mental disorders such as schizophrenia. By unraveling them, we may be able to learn more about how we become our unique selves, and possibly even how to alter those selves.”

My comments after reading the article linked above:

What remains to be learned about about the epigenetic effects of sensory input from the environment on the genetically predisposed connectome and behavior will almost undoubtedly incorporate the calibration of neural networks for individual survival by food odors and the calibration of neural networks for species survival by pheromones. You would do well to learn about survival of other species, to help ensure their individual survival and yours.

I ordered the book earlier today so that I can learn more about this challenging work and also about the sensory stimuli that currently are being used to activate the complexity of the neural networks that are being studied. For example, sex differences in these neural networks might be demonstrated by activation with species specific mixtures of pheromones linked to sex differences in behavior.

About James V. Kohl 1308 Articles
James Vaughn Kohl was the first to accurately conceptualize human pheromones, and began presenting his findings to the scientific community in 1992. He continues to present to, and publish for, diverse scientific and lay audiences, while constantly monitoring the scientific presses for new information that is relevant to the development of his initial and ongoing conceptualization of human pheromones. Recently, Kohl integrated scientific evidence that pinpoints the evolved neurophysiological mechanism that links olfactory/pheromonal input to genes in hormone-secreting cells of tissue in a specific area of the brain that is primarily involved in the sensory integration of olfactory and visual input, and in the development of human sexual preferences. His award-winning 2007 article/book chapter on multisensory integration: The Mind’s Eyes: Human pheromones, neuroscience, and male sexual preferences followed an award winning 2001 publication: Human pheromones: integrating neuroendocrinology and ethology, which was coauthored by disinguished researchers from Vienna. Rarely do researchers win awards in multiple disciplines, but Kohl’s 2001 award was for neuroscience, and his 2007 “Reiss Theory” award was for social science. Kohl has worked as a medical laboratory scientist since 1974, and he has devoted more than twenty-five years to researching the relationship between the sense of smell and the development of human sexual preferences. Unlike many researchers who work with non-human subjects, medical laboratory scientists use the latest technology from many scientific disciplines to perform a variety of specialized diagnostic medical testing on people. James V. Kohl is certified with: * American Society for Clinical Pathology * American Medical Technologists James V. Kohl is a member of: * Society for Neuroscience * Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology * Association for Chemoreception Sciences * Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality * International Society for Human Ethology * American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science * Mensa, the international high IQ society