Re: Christopher Reeves; Alzheimers

[Bemmzim]

In a message dated 5/22/2002 2:42:53 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:

That's fascinating! But if it's all based on the demands of a baby's sensory nervous system, how can there be neurons "left over" for thinking and all the other mental processes?

The number of neurons produced during developement is under genetic control.  There are in fact many more neurons produced than are "needed".  There is a great dying off of juevinile neurons. (There is a theory with at least some anatomic support that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disease in which there is too little "prunning" of juevinile neurons; I am skeptical about this but there it is.) In any event Hebbs hypothesis is about how the central nervous system wires itself not how it makes neurons; Basically you cannot simply code for specific neurons to hook up with other specific neurons; What you code for is the process by which neurons attempt to hook up with each other.