Does the brain use a code? If so...

Hi everyone,
This has been stumping me for a while, but I'm pretty sure about the first question. The second question, I have no clue:

1.Does the brain use a code? Is it binary, or some other kind we may not have thought of?

2.If the brain uses a code, and if we could do experiments to decode this code, then couldn't we decode it with a computer, or even send the brain (or muscles) a code from the computer to make it do something?

3.If there is a code, is it different for each person? Could this maybe someday be used as a bio-identity tool?

4.The last question: I once heard that brainwaves to the muscles travel much like an FM frequency. Is this true?

Thanks for all your help!

-strategicman

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Unknown but unlikely.

Most likely it would be analog information transfer.

Psychology is the field that studies the working of the brain in terms of some type of code. The brain is so complex that computers just don’t have the speed.

Psychologists have a large supply of tools to assess humans.

In that they use FM (Frequency Modulation) to control the muscles (Not radio waves). To use a muscles a small amount you send it a low frequency signal, to use full power you give it the highest frequency you can muster.

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The calculations in the brain have to be arithmetic. Nothing else will compute. Think of a neuron as a function.
N = F(all inputs)
Calculation in wet brains is molecular. There are several ways this can work, by quantity (pressure), movement or shape.
DNA -> RNA -> Amino acids (by a 3 out of 4 bit code) and amino acids add up to make proteins. How does it know when it has enough of a particular protein? Feedback starts at this level.

Back to the brain. The neuron functions have to be of arithmetic. There is nothing else to compute with.

The first thing to compute in a feedback situation is the difference of two inputs. So we have a minus function.
Functions need to aggregate data, so we have plus.
There is need to find the loudest, (or quietest) signal from a group, so we have MAX and MIN functions.
And so on.
What we do not know is the bit size of the brain data streams.
Even, so, we can still model with some bit size.

Brain codes are just numbers. Brain functions are the actions.
This is a solvable problem.

 

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matrix,

the "proximity effect" are coded in pattrens and frequencies i,e. it takes the brain to ungo a current pattern to unlock or map out the full human ability and mobility.so, the anwser is {yes the brain is a data that can be decoded by the wright applicant.

 

The way I understand it is that each neuron fires based on a lot of analog signals. Such as chemicals transfered from other neurons firing. It's all pattern recognition when it comes down to it, so if you have a brain identical input you should see nearly identical neurons firing. Especially if you repeat the input over and over.

 

Ohh, ,so like a big chain reaction.

 

That is my understanding. Look up "Neural Nets" on google and you will see some ideas about designing computers similar to the way the brain works. Interesting stuff.

 

To do this in the brain can have a big effect. Most cases the signals will be inhibited, and could be completely shut down. Yet if you stop repeating the signal that part of the brain will be much more receptive to the same signal in the future.

It is, but about half of all neurons actually inhibit other signals sort of like gain control in analog amplifiers.

 

I'm more intrested in what code the brain uses to communicate with the rest of the body. As far as I know, the body translates chemical reactions into electrical signals that travel along the spinal cord. Now there has got to be some sort of code for the brain to interpret those.

 

there is definitly work in terms of figuring out what those signals are. I think in terms of making artificial limbs that can be controled by the brain. I don't think any neuroscienctist has an exact answer on that though.

 

Use a Carrier Frequency of 8hz

Use a Carrier Frequency of 8hz with a digital signal riding.
send from the rs232 port of the computer to an amplifier or
use the sound card. I dont know the amplitude you would need.
I dont know if it even matters about the amplitude.
Most studies show that 8 hz is the freq that our brains pick up
easily. Plants seem to transmit (if you could call it that) at
2hz.
Check out the studies ELF and other similar research.

 

Think of the brain as the code and neurons as the hardware.
Then a brain is a list of neurons and how they are connected.

You see the neurons. How they are arranged is the brain code.

 

Well I just read an article, heres an excerpt:

"For example, in recent work scientists implanted electrodes that detect cell activity into the brains of two monkeys. Computer programs analyzed the activity, predicted the monkey's planned movement and sent the command to a robotic arm. "

Wow I guess we are already there in terms of decoding messages. Hopefully we use these advances in humans and replace lost limbs with artificial ones.

Heres the whole article:
http://web.sfn.org/content/Publications/BrainBriefings/robotic_limbs.html

 

BLINDMAN Qwestion::Frequency? Amplitude? Modulation(s)?

Dear Blindman, You answer these qwestions as if with some authority.
When you say frequency, is it that you know freqwency to be the case, or are you simply making a guess? Might the information be sent via amplitude? Might the information be send via Modulations? Or might the info be sent via voltage or wattage, or (fill in the blank)

I'm not trying to put you on the spot, I'm trying to learn.
If you know something here please share it with us.
If you are taking a guess, that's fine, guess are a valid part of learning so long as we are forthright in saying something akin to, "here's my guess ..."


In that they use FM (Frequency Modulation) to control the muscles (Not radio waves). To use a muscles a small amount you send it a low frequency signal, to use full power you give it the highest frequency you can muster.

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Jasper.

I can’t say Im a top authority, but I spent some of my formative years creating simple neural net solutions for a host of robotic applications. To help me I studied psychology to learn more about the function of the brain and nervous systems.

Generally No. (there might bet some systems in the brain that do use the amplitude for transmitting information, not that I know of any system that does. This is a guess.)

????

No, you should not think of neurons transmitting power. Electrons do not move down the length of the nerve. A chain reaction stimulated by neurotransmitters propagates down the length of the nerve.

Nerves can’t carry a constant signal like wires. They can only produce a short pulse and then need to be reset. The amplitude range of the pulse is limited as well. The signals stimulate the nerve endings to produce neurotransmitters. These chemicals will accumulate and produce an amplitude type effect.

Most of the information processing is done at the synapse (places where nerves join). The information is transmitted from one nerve to the next via chemicals. Information can also be transported via chemicals in the blood.

 

A concept I've just recently come across is that instead of information being encoded in the strength of the signal (the voltage, I assume...I'm not terribly familiar with the biological side), information is instead held within the delay between firings. This is the idea behind spiking neural networks.
A brief but better overview

 

that's a coincidence, cus I was curious about this all mainly because I was thinking about replacing limbs.

 

Well, while we're talking about this, don't forget to take into account that you can move many muscles at the same time, including the heart. To do that, the signals being sent wouldn't be able to interfere with each other unless each muscle has a way of filtering out the other ones. Just like a radio where it sets up a frequency path, and any frequencies that dont' fit simply don't effect the rest of the cicuitry.

strategicman

 

A guy has implanted a computer chip into his arm and had it move his arm. Sort of as if it was an uncontrollable reflex. ie he was not in control.

Also, a few totally blind people have had cables which are connected to a camera connected directly to the visual cortex of the brain. This was able to produce images with only two colours (white and black).

Perhaps, there lies a few clues?

 

There is obviously a code
it is buried in physics... the countless chemical reactions that occur to keep us alive every day, even the other lifeforms we support (bacteria etc) all contribute to keeping the whole system in tact. All of this is governed by the laws of physics.

There is also the argument of a soul... but I don't think this has anything to do with the operations of the body if it does exist.

Mikey