On Mon, 19 Dec 1994, Werner Kilb wrote:
> On 13 Dec 1994 19:40:02 GMT, HARRY R. ERWIN wrote:
>> >That suggests the dendritic arbor of generalized neurons is a modified
> >mastigoneme and the axon is a modified smooth undulipod. It also suggests
> >the cognitive/behavioral dichotomy is extremely primitive...
> >
> Hello Harry
>> Be careful to compare recent properties of "primitive" organisms with
> properties of organs or single cells of "higher" organisms. The evolution of
> recent flagelats lastes as long as our evolution, and the properties of the
> recent species are adapted to the environment as the cells of the human
> brain are adapted to their environment.
>
I agree, and I'm trying to find out additional information in this area.
Charles O'Kelly points out that one implication (_if_ this were the case)
is that the axon and dendritic tree would develop from centrioles.
Hameroff in Hameroff, Stuart; Dayhoff, Judith; Lahoz-Beltra, Rafael;
Rasmussen, Steen; Insinna, Ezio; and Koruga, Djura. "Nanoneurology and
the Cytoskeleton: Quantum Signaling and Protein Conformational Dynamics
as Cognitive Substrate," ch. 10 in Pribram, Karl, ed., Rethinking Neural
Networks: Quantum Fields and Biological Data, INNS Press and LEA, 1993,
suggests, but never specifically claims, that to be the case. The feature
that originally sent me off on this speculation was the gross simularity
of flimmers to dendritic spines and the substructures of the sensory
cilia in visual cells in metazoa.
Harry Erwin
Internet: herwin at gmu.edu
