Biology of Cognition

📝 Summary

• Circular organization as basis of living system identity ★★★★★
  Living systems maintain their identity through a circular organization in which components produce and sustain the very organization that produces them, forming a self-maintaining homeostatic unit.
  «This circular organization constitutes a homeostatic system whose function is to produce and maintain this very same circular organization by determining that the components that specify it be those whose synthesis or maintenance it secures.»
  связи: hypothesis:H2, type:C
• Closed functional organization of the nervous system ★★★★★
  The nervous system is functionally closed, being open only to modulations through interactions, maintaining its autonomy despite continuous interactions with the organism and environment.
  «The closed nature of the functional organization of the nervous system (open only to modulations through interactions) ...»
  связи: tension:autonomy-vs-control
• Cognition arises from circular organization, nervous system enables richer interaction ★★★★★
  Living systems are cognitive by virtue of their circular organization defining a domain of interactions; the nervous system does not create cognition but allows more complex interactions within that domain, including 'pure relations'.
  «A living system suffers an internal change without loss of identity if the predictions brought forth by the internal change do not interfere with its fundamental circular organization... the nervous system expands the domain of interactions... it does not create cognition.»
• Cognition as a biological function ★★★★★
  Cognition is understood not simply as information processing but as a biological function that guides an organism's interaction with its environment, depending on its biological integrity and capacity to know.
  «cognition as a biological function guides his handling of the universe and makes knowledge gives certainty to his acts»
  связи: hypothesis:H1
• Conduct as functional unit of the nervous system ★★★★★
  Neither individual neurons nor fixed collections of neurons can be considered the functional unit of the nervous system; only the conduct—actual patterns of neural activity and behavior—can be regarded as the functional unit due to the continuous functional changes in neuronal participation.
  «The neuron cannot be considered as the functional unit of the nervous system... Only conduct itself can be considered as the functional unit of the nervous system.»
  связи: hypothesis:H1
• Evolution as change in maintenance of circularity ★★★★★
  Evolutionary change in living systems is a change in the way the basic circular organization is maintained, not in the circular organization itself, allowing identity retention despite generational changes.
  «What changes from generation to generation in the evolution of living systems are those aspects of their organization which are subservient to the maintenance of their basic circularity but do not determine it ... Evolution is that is, what changes is the way in which the basic circularity is maintained, and not this basic circularity itself.»
  связи: hypothesis:H5
• Evolution as internal change maintaining system identity ★★★★★
  For a living system to evolve, it must undergo internal changes that alter its domain of interactions while preserving its fundamental circular organization and identity.
  «For a change to occur in the domain of interactions with respect to the observer it must suffer an internal self-referring circular organization, hence, the evolution of the cognitive domains.»
  связи: type:C
• Genetically determined but variable nervous system architecture ★★★★★
  The nervous system's anatomical organization is genetically predetermined but exhibits variability due to genetic and experiential factors, which the system tolerates functionally.
  «The whole architecture of the brain is genetically determined and has been attained through evolution... There is a necessary genetic variability... and a variability that results from interactions of the organism with independent events during its development.»
  связи: hypothesis:H1
• Living system as a closed circular organization ★★★★★
  Living systems maintain themselves as unities through a closed causal circular organization, characterized by exergonic metabolism, growth, and molecular reproduction, which enables their evolutionary adaptation and sustains their identity.
  «Living systems... are characterized by exergonic metabolism... all organized in a closed causal circular process that allows for evolutionary change in the way the circularity is maintained»
  связи: type:A
• Living system as a self-referring domain of interactions ★★★★★
  Due to their circular organization, living systems have a self-referring domain of interactions that preserve their identity by limiting interactions to those specified by their organization.
  «Due to the circular nature of its organization a living system has a self-referring domain of interactions ... its condition of being a unit of interactions is maintained because its organization has functional significance only in relation to the niche.»
  связи: hypothesis:H3
• Nervous system activity as states of relative activity between nerve cells ★★★★★
  Neural interactions manifest as states of relative activity between neurons, where aggregates of cells exhibit coordinated states, permitting various functional concomitances constrained by anatomy.
  «Interactions within the nervous system give rise to activity in aggregates of cells... all that is accessible to the nervous system at any point are states of relative activity holding between nerve cells.»
• Nervous system defines organism's 'point of view' via structural connectivity ★★★★★
  The organism's interactions and accessible relations are determined by the nervous system's architecture, which imposes a bias or stance, effectively defining the organism's perspective or point of view at any instant.
  «The organization and structure... define in it a “point of view”, a bias or posture from the perspective of which it interacts determining at any instant the possible relations accessible to its nervous system.»
  связи: hypothesis:H2
• Nervous system expands cognitive domain via pure relations ★★★★★
  The nervous system enlarges the cognitive domain by making internal states modifiable through non-physical 'pure relations,' enabling organisms to interact with representations and abstract entities without creating cognition itself.
  «The nervous system enlarges the domain of interactions of the organism by making its internal states also modifiable in a relevant manner by 'pure relations'; it does not create cognition.»
  связи: hypothesis:H3
• Neuronal transfer functions as deterministic yet adaptive ★★★★★
  At any moment, each neuron has a definite transfer function that transforms classes of afferent inputs into effector activity, but these transfer functions can change over time due to the organism's history, supporting learning and behavioral variability.
  «For every nerve cell, at any moment, its transfer function... is a well-defined deterministic process... many neurons have several transfer functions... may change from one moment to another as a result of the past history of the organism.»
  связи: hypothesis:H2
• No representation of the world, only synthesis of behavior ★★★★★
  The nervous system's anatomical and functional organization secures the synthesis of behavior in response to interactions, but does not provide a representation of an external world independent of the organism.
  «The anatomical and functional organization of the nervous system secures the synthesis of behavior, not a representation of the world.»
  связи: tension:domain-cognition-vs-interpretation
• Observer and observed entity interaction ★★★★★
  An observer defines and recognizes an entity based on its domain of interactions; the observer is always himself a living system who interacts with the entity and its environment, and can define himself as an entity through his own interaction domain.
  «For the observer an entity is an entity when he can describe it... The ultimate reference for any description is the observer himself.»
  связи: tension:domain-cognition-vs-interpretation
• Spatio-temporal configuration in neuronal activity ★★★★★
  The nervous system's neuronal states are determined by spatio-temporal patterns of afferent inputs, and neurons respond to classes of such spatio-temporal configurations rather than to individual inputs.
  «The spatio-temporal configuration of the input to a neuron that causes in it the recurrence of a given state of activity is a class of afferent influences defined by a pattern in the relations holding between the active afferents and the collector.»
  связи: type:E
• State of relative neuronal activity as embodiment of relations ★★★★★
  Relations between the organism and its environment, or internal interactions, are embodied in specific states of relative activity among neurons, forming the neural basis of interactions rather than explicit representations.
  «Every relation is embodied in a state of relative activity of nerve cells ... Relations through their embodiment in states of relative activity become units of internal interactions.»
  связи: type:E
• Definition and functional anatomy of neuron as basic nervous system unit ★★★★
  A neuron is an anatomically and functionally integrated cellular unit composed of a collector area (dendrites and sometimes cell body) and an effector area (axon terminals), responsible for generating and propagating nerve impulses essential for nervous system activity.
  «Anatomically and functionally a neuron is formed by a collector area ... capable of conducting propagated spikes to an effector area formed by the terminal branching of the axon.»
• Domain of interactions as criterion of entity ★★★★
  An entity is defined by having a domain of interactions — the set of interactions and relations it can enter into, which puts it within the cognitive domain of the observer.
  «The set of all interactions into which an entity can enter is its domain of interactions... An entity is an entity if it has a domain of interactions»
• Equivalence of external and internal interaction embodiment in nervous system ★★★★
  Relations generated externally or internally by the organism are both embodied by states of neuronal activity; the nervous system treats internal states as if they were independent entities enabling abstract thinking.
  «There is no difference in the nature of the embodiment of the relations generated through either external or internal interactions; both are sets of states of neuronal activity.»
  связи: hypothesis:H3
• Hierarchy of self-referring systems in living units ★★★★
  Living systems can be composed as units of interactions nested within larger self-referring systems, each maintaining their circular organization, such as cells within organisms or organisms within societies.
  «If this larger unit of interactions is... a self-referring system ... then it must itself be (or become) subservient to the maintenance of the circular organization of its components. The society of bees... is an example of a third order self-referring system.»
• Learning as new classes of interactions generating states of activity ★★★★
  Learning involves the organism experiencing new classes of interactions, where initial occurrence triggers states of neural activity followed by internal states (e.g., anxiety), enabling recognition and functional notions of time.
  «Whenever an interaction takes place which is an element of a class experienced for the first time, it is sufficient that the state of activity which it generates be followed by the suppression of a peculiar concomitant internal state ...»
  связи: hypothesis:H1
• Nerve cells classified morphologically with conserved functional relations ★★★★
  Neurons can be grouped into morphological classes characterized by patterns of distribution of their collector and effector areas, and neurons within a class maintain similar relations to each other and other classes, defining nervous system function.
  «The great majority... of its neurons can be assigned to well-defined morphological classes... elements of the same class hold similar relations with each other and with other classes of neurons.»
• Nervous system function subordinated to sensory and effector surfaces ★★★★
  The nervous system is organized anatomically and functionally in relation to the sensory (input) and effector (output) surfaces, which define topological relations that constrain neural connectivity and function.
  «The architectural organization of the nervous system is subordinated to the order of the sensory and effector surfaces... the topological relations specified... constitute the basis for all the architectural order of the central nervous system.»
• Niche as domain of interactions defining cognitive reality ★★★★
  A living system's niche is defined as the classes of interactions it can enter without losing identity and constitutes its entire cognitive domain and reality.
  «The niche is defined by the classes of interactions into which an organism can enter ... and the niche thus predicted as a domain of classes of interactions constitutes its entire cognitive reality.»
  связи: hypothesis:H1
• Non-synaptic interactions in neuropil plasticity ★★★★
  The neuropil is a plastic system where non-synaptic interactions between neurons occur, mediated by local changes in water, ions, and electrical activities, modifying branching structures and affecting synaptic efficacy in a lasting manner.
  «Here non-synaptic interactions take place between neighboring elements which may cause in each other... changes in diameter and polarization at their branching points... permanent changes in size and polarization as a result of their independent electrical activities.»
  связи: hypothesis:H3
• Objectivity as constructed by observer ★★★★
  Objective knowledge is not passively transferred but created by the listener (observer), who must be prepared to understand for objective knowledge to appear transferred and systematic.
  «objective knowledge appears transferred, only if he is prepared to understand»
  связи: hypothesis:H3
• Origin distinction of nervous system states via concomitant events ★★★★
  The nervous system distinguishes between internally and externally generated neuronal states only by a concomitance of events that indicates their source, enabling the organism to recognize origins of its neural activity.
  «The distinction between externally and internally generated interactions can only arise through a concomitance of events that indicates the source ... of the state of activity caused by them.»
• Paradox of organisms including representations of their own interactions ★★★★
  Organisms generate representations of their own interactions, treating them as independent domains, creating a paradox where cognitive domains include themselves; this paradox is resolved in humans via abstract thinking and self-observation.
  «There are organisms that include as a subset of their possible interactions, interactions with their own internal states... generating the apparent paradox... In us this paradox is resolved by what we call 'abstract thinking'.»
  связи: hypothesis:H2
• Presentist view of nervous system function ★★★★
  The nervous system functions exclusively in the present moment during interactions; past and future are observer constructs, and understanding neurons requires focusing on their present system functioning and state.
  «The nervous system always functions in the present... past, future and time exist only for the observer.»
  связи: type:C
• Species-specific interaction capabilities in nervous systems ★★★★
  Different species have nervous systems adapted to interact with different sets of relations, defining distinct niches and interaction domains.
  «Different species interact with different sets of relations (have different niches)... the particular part of that domain used by a given species (particular classes of relations).»
  связи: tension:domain-cognition-vs-interpretation
• Subordination of neuronal activity through local concomitances ★★★★
  Neuronal behavioral changes are induced not by repetition of activity states, but by the occurrence of local concomitant states of activity arising from seemingly unrelated interactions that cause subordinated changes in neurons’ reactive capacities.
  «It is not the repetition of the same state of activity which can cause neuronal changes of behavioral significance subordinated to the evolving domain of interactions... but rather the occurrence of local concomitant states of activity produced by seemingly unrelated interactions which can cause such subordinated changes.»
  связи: hypothesis:H5
• Functional classifications of nervous system localization by convergence areas ★★★
  Localized functions in the nervous system should be understood as convergence areas of modalities of interaction, not as loci of faculties or functions, reflecting organization by relations rather than representations.
  «Localized lesions should produce discrete functional deficiencies by impeding the convergence of activities ... these localizations are to be viewed in terms of areas where certain modalities of interactions converge.»
• Nerve impulse propagation influenced by anatomical and physiological factors ★★★
  The pattern and timing of nerve impulse propagation along neuron branches depend on factors such as relative branch diameter, membrane polarization states, and local non-synaptic interactions, influencing neural signal distribution and effect.
  «Whether one or two branches of a bifurcating axon are invaded by a nerve impulse depends on their relative diameter and on the state of polarization of their membranes... non synaptic influences... may produce diameter and polarization changes at the branching zones.»
• Nervous system’s input depends on observer’s chosen point of view ★★★
  What counts as input to the nervous system depends on the observer's choice of point of observation, since the nervous system's uniformity means its function appears consistent regardless of lesion or perspective.
  «The answer to the question, 'What is the input to the nervous system?' depends entirely on the chosen point of observation.»