As is discussed in AoK, 'the nervous system' is a system of systems,
so it's referred to, in NDT, as "the supersystem".
The problem that requires the supersystem to be approached via
Topology is, as I've described in previous posts, that the
"protopathic system" maps 'self' and remains primarily ipsilateral,
while the "epicritic system" maps inputs from and outputs to the
external environment.
The supersystem converges upon behavioral manifestations as
by-products of TD E/I-minimization, which constitutes a 'reading' of
external envrionmental WDB2T [the one-way flow of energy from order
to disorder that is what's described by 2nd Thermo [recent laser &
micro-bead stuff notwithstanding]], and converging upon an
"appropriate" supersystem configuration that is directed toward
'climbing' the external WDB2T energy gradient. In TD
E/I-minimization, internal WDB2T becomes, more or less, 'aligned'
with respect to external WDB2T.
In order to achieve this end, the internal environment is mapped
rigorously with respect to the body-external_envrionment interface.
In order to achieve this mapping, while preserving 'self'-'not_self'
correlation, requires a topological mapping that is like a manifold
"Kline bottle".
The sensory and motor somatic maps in cortex 'stand on their heads',
mapping the contralateral body half, and form mirror-images with
respect to their same-hemisphere 'partners'. Occipital cortex maps
visual hemi-fields upside-down, and left-right reversed. Secondary
maps preserve the topological-mapping of the primariy areas, but with
topological 'enhancements' that correlate to the purposes they serve.
All of the neural topology serves the single purpose of maintaining
alignment between internal and external WDB2T, and, as is discussed
in AoK, "Short Paper", Ap3, 5, 6], allows rapid calculation of
solutions to problems having infinitely-large scope [AoK, Ap1], such
as calculation of effector activations that will mobilize an organism
in 'a' collective-direction so that the organism will 'move away
from' environmental sources of tissue-damaging 'stimulation', via
'simple' TD E/I-minimization.
That is, the 'twists' 'turns', decussations, and hemispherical
commisures of neural topology make-possible extremely-rapid
calculation via simple TD E/I-minimization.
The calculation could be achieved via other neural architecture, and
via other [non-TD E/I-minimization] 'arithmetic', but any other
neural topology and any other 'arithmetic' would increase
processing-'time', and, therefore, have lower survival-propensity
than does this neural topology and TD E/I-minimization which minimize
fiber-lengths and energy-consumption, which is why evolutionary
dynamics converged upon it [them].
Most of this neural topology is achieved via axonal mapping, at the
level of the global system, via many relays, with dendritic trees
constituting topological-merge-zones in which axons from disparate,
but nevertheless, correlated areas 'map-up'. A particularly-vivid
case is the fornix, which loops-around, preserving cross-sectional
mapping, but giving-off fibers differentially-topoligically-mapped
with respect to target topological-mapping [dendritic-field
distributions], in the end, becoming almost its inverse
topological-mapping. [See all of AoK for more examples.]
All such instances of topological-mapping occur for the =single=
purpose of maintaining the ability to calculate via simple TD
E/I-minimization.
Anyway, that's why the supersystem must be discussed in terms of
"neural topology", and why nothing in the supersystem can be
discussed =completely= without discussing everything in the
supersystem. [Functionality exists at the 'level' of the supersystem,
not 'systems', 'subsystems', or individual neurons.. No 'stuffing'
stuff into arbitrarily-small 'areas', or individual neurons allowed.
Inclusion of the entiety of functional Neuroanatomy is a prerequisite
for doing anything =completely= in Neuroscience, even though the
'stuff' might seem to be 'discrete'. It's not. 'Separate-out' this or
that, and any discussion of it necessarily becomes artificial.]
The nervous system is a Topologist's 'playground'.
k. p. collins
