Phase state of the brain and readiness to fall into the unknown
Maybe someone else remembers the series “Fringe”, in which Denethor was pumped up with LSD, kept cows in the laboratory and traveled between parallel universes. It just so happens that reality offers theories that are much more daring. A new discovery describes our brain state as “frozen at a transition point.” But between what stages is this point located?
Although the phase state describes the transition of water from liquid to vapor or from ice to liquid, it is not about cryonics. The conventionally “normal state of the brain” of a person, a rat and a fly is actually a precarious point of balance. And we have absolutely no idea what stage the brain may “fall” into.
What did they learn about the state of the brain?
Here this study showsthat the brain seemed frozen in a state of perfect balance. The closest analogy is the state of water, a moment before it becomes ice. The problem with scientists is that they don’t know between which states the human brain is stuck.
Classic brain state
Considering that our brains work for decades, it seems that its structure is quite strong and stable. However, Northwestern University scientists have focused on certain parts of neurons. The state of these parts is exactly the same as that of a substance undergoing a phase shift – a transition from one state, for example liquid, to another, for example gas.
The structure of the brain at the cellular level appears to be undergoing a phase transition. This is similar to what happens to ice when it melts. These are still the same water molecules, but they move from solid to liquid. We are, of course, not saying that the brain is on the verge of melting. The problem is that we have no way of knowing which phases a transition might occur between. Because, on both sides of the critical point, it will no longer be the brain.
Helen Ansell, co-author of the study.
To reach these conclusions, Helen Ansell and her colleague Istvan Kovacs studied publicly available 3D images of the brains of humans, mice and fruit flies. By studying images at the nanoscale, scientists discovered that the tissues that determine brain health have all the universal scaling properties characteristic of criticality. The very point at which matter passes from one state to another. Will this principle be included in areas of neurohacking?
From animal to superman. Were Nietzsche and Jung right?
There is a specific marker for a substance that changes its state. Scientists have focused on the fact that brain cells at the nanoscale exhibit “self-similar” fractal patterns. This is a condition where a small part of a pattern resembles the entire pattern. This pattern is observed among all neurons and in their various segments.
The picture we observe coincides 100% with observations in all critical systems of physics. The brain appears to be in a delicate balance between two phases.
Istvan Kovacs, co-author of the study.
It is also interesting that signs of criticality were found not only in human brain tissue, but also in the brains of rats and fruit flies. According to researchers, this may indicate a readiness for phase changes in the qualities of the brain of almost all living species. Are these really the prerequisites on which it can strengthen philosophy of transhumanism?
Initially, the material being studied looks completely different: the brain of a fly is about the size of a small human neuron. But this is a property that we have discovered that is characteristic of brain tissue of all types.
Helen Ansell, co-author of the study.
Among the characteristics that vary from organism to organism, we relied on statistical physics to test which parameters are potentially universal. The same critical indicators. Indeed, the critical state of the brain is the same for different organisms.
Istvan Kovacs, co-author of the study.
So why is this brain state interesting?
This discovery is important for creating statistical models of the brain and may contribute to the development of neural networks. It doesn't matter if they will brain emulation on a supercomputeror it will be supercomputer made from human brains. They also say they will continue their research and study different organisms to see how universal the critical brain state is.
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Man is an animal that has gone mad. There are two ways out of this state: to return back to the state of an animal, or to become something more than a person.
Carl Gustav Jung.
