Kevin,
What the theory accomplishes is an explanation of evidence that to
this date has no explanation, by any conventional model or theory. It
resolves what seems to be contradictory data, showing that in fact there
is no contradiction. It permits a prediction of relationships between the
nervous system's pulses and waves that presently cannot be predicted.
Giving a detailed account of all this in email correspondence is not
feasible, however. A summary of the theory follows:
(1) The flow of neuronal multiunit spike activity through the nervous
system, representing an “equivalent magnetic current,” is the basic
currency of the self’s inner discourse. The development of pathways or
patterns of synaptic activation with low “magnetic conductivity” is the
means by which such discourse is made possible.
(2) The global control of self discourse may be a high-level order
parameter, which perhaps is the nervous system’s magnetic or MEG field,
that determines at each moment the flow of magnetic current through the
nervous system.
(3) The high-level control of nervous system activation by the MEG field
may constitute a “psychobiomagnetic dynamo” that regulates the self’s
inner discourse in terms of electromagnetic principles. The principles of
classical mechanics, such as Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, also
may be employed.
(4) In this model, the subjective experience of one’s self (and the
objective behavior this produces) may not be a useless byproduct of
nervous system activity. Instead, defined in terms of a psychobiomagnetic
inertia or momentum, it may be a major factor in nervous system
energetics.
(5) The “self energy” of the nervous system may have both classical and
quantum properties. Free choice thus may exist to some extent, by virtue
of some form of quantum uncertainty in the energy. This possibility may be
indicated if the brain’s macroscopic waves can be shown to possess an
energy-frequency relationship, perhaps through some higer-level,
biologically-significant “Planck constant.” The control of self thus may
involve a combination of both continuous (classical) processes and
discontinuous (quantum) processes.
(6) THE PROPOSED ELECTROMAGNETIC CONCEPT OF SELF IS NOT JUST A
PHILOSOPHICAL REFORMULATION OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL DATA ALREADY EXPLAINED
OR ACCOUNTED FOR BY CONVENTIONAL NEUROSCIENCE. THE CLASSICAL ASPECT OF
THIS CONCEPT IS BASED ON, AND EXPLAINS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE RESULTS OF
DECADES OF HARD RESEARCH ON THE SPATIOTEMPORAL RELATIONS OF NERVE CELL
DISCHARGE AND POSTSYNAPTIC EXCITATION THAT HAS REMAINED TOTALLY
UNEXPLAINED TO THIS DATE. IT RESOLVES APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS IN THE DATA
THAT THE CONVENTIONAL MODELS AND THEORIES OF NEUROSCIENCE SIMPLY HAVE NOT
RESOLVED.
(7) THE STARTING POINT, IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY OF
SELF, CLEARLY LIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VERIFIABLE ELECTROMAGNETIC
ACCOUNT OF THE SPATIOTEMPORAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM’S
“PULSE ACTIVITY” AND “WAVE ACTIVITY,” ON WHICH NERVOUS SYSTEM DYNAMICS IS
KNOWN TO BE BASED.
Fred Zaman
