Paul Koch and Gerry Leisman have published an article entitled “Cortical Activity Waves Are the Physical Carriers of Memory and Thought.” Readers of my more recent blogs have noted how coherent waveforms are transmitted through synaptic networks that are encoded with specified information within spike trains of action potentials. The authors offer that “coherent waves are instrumental in the retrieval of memory and random waves embody original thought.”

I am encouraged that these authors are linking cortical waves with thought which I have associated with the activity of an immaterial cognitive mind. They continue, “. . . there are numerous different possible neural firing patterns . . . . If each active subset of individual cortical cells represents a distinct thought, there are about 10^6 billion . . . possibilities for about 20 billion cortical cells. . . . [The authors do not] “describe how these patterns are decoded into a mixture of the semantic content of different wave-memories and memories of previous thoughts. . . . All mammals are subject to cortical activity waves, but only humans can associate language (words, music, fine art, dance, algebra, etc.) with the waves, and thus can have memories of our thoughts.”

In my blogs and books I have provided evidence that wave “patterns” are the neural codes within spike trains of action potentials, and I submit that memory is instantiated within neural codes having meaning, or semantics, and purpose. Are waves generated by “original thought” truly random, or are they the product of cognitive intent? Humans have been uniquely created by God to transmit linguistic neural codes that are actively interpreted by the immaterial mind and are archived in memory. I suggest that this point applies to “words, music, fine art, dance, algebra, etc.” The authors make no direct mention of the cognitive mind, but dualist interaction between an immaterial mind and the neural synaptic network processes can give a more complete analysis of the excellent observations made by these authors in my view.

For more than 20 years I have been studying interaction between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit and soul (mind, will and emotion), the neural synaptic network serving as the model for my investigations. I have shared what I have learned in my books and blogs, posting what I hope is compelling evidence for the dualist interaction that occurs between the immaterial Holy Spirit of God and the spirit and soul of Man through the material components of the neural synaptic networks.

Many posts have been made showing how wave forms interact with the spike trains of action potentials in neural synaptic networks. By this process specified information with meaning and purpose is transmitted via neural codes instantiated within the wave forms. Both electrochemical energy and a proposed non-material energy provide the power for this transmission. Neuroscientists are at work to uncover the mechanisms by which transmission occurs, mechanisms that go unseen except by application of the most current technological tools. It is exciting and challenging work, with promise for people having impaired sensory and motor functions. Might Hebrews 11:1-3 (NIV) apply?

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I have endeavored to show the concordance that is becoming evident between Scripture and neuroscience in dualist interaction between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit and soul and neural mechanisms. I am reminded of verses in the Book of Romans that apply to the mechanisms being revealed in this interaction. The Apostle Paul spoke to life in the Spirit in Romans 8: 9-11; 15-16 (NIV):

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. . . . For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

I am referring to a summary article that was presented in The Hearing Review in June 2015 that summarized the work of neuroscience researchers from the University of Geneva. Their work was done under the direction of Anne-Lise Giraud and her Auditory Language Group at the university. It was confirmed that “speech, emitted or received, produces an electrical activity in neuronal circuits that can be measured in the form of cortical oscillations, or brain waves. . . . to understand speech and other cognitive or sensory processes, the brain breaks down the information it receives into cortical oscillations [spike trains of action potentials in different frequencies and amplitudes] to integrate it and give it coherent meaning [within instantiated neural codes]. . . . The new study results confirm the significance of certain cortical oscillations, or brain waves, and how they must synchronize to decipher spoken language.” There is a “crucial role of neuronal oscillations for decoding spoken language.

As this work is reviewed (additional articles will be reviewed in this context), we shall see parallels with points made in the blog posts of the last few days concerning visual percepts within the visual cortex of the human brain. I add that the article makes no mention of the role of the immaterial mind in deciphering spoken language.

The objective of the researchers “was to discover if the theta and gamma-coupled brain waves observed in the auditory cortex are key to understanding and producing speech. . . . The researchers found that synchronizing these two oscillations is crucial to correctly understanding speech.” Desynchronization resulted in cases such as dyslexia or autism. “Imbalance between slow and fast auditory oscillations . . . would compromise the ability to form coherent conceptual representations [I would add that would be interpreted by the immaterial cognitive mind].”

There is similarity between the processes of encoded wave form transmission in audition and vision, and we specifically see the need for waveform synchronization in deciphering and generating normal speech.

In an article published in October 2015 it was stated that the process of obtaining specific brain responses to different pixelized images in the primary visual cortex “is still unknown.” (Bing-Bing Guo et al, “Decoding Brain Responses to Pixelized Images in the Primary Visual Cortex: Implications for Visual Cortical Prostheses,” Neural Regeneration Research, Vol. 10.) However, specific brain activation patterns to pixelized images have been obtained above a chance level by the authors. They noted that “the relationship between visual space and cortical space is non-linear and non-conformal, so it is hard to accurately remap visual space onto cortical space.”

I offer the following question, drawing upon my previously posted blogs: Can pixelized images generate encoded waveforms wirelessly transmitted that can be “matched” with modular waveforms in the visual cortex established over a lifetime and archived in memory? If so, perhaps a synchronization of the waveforms could be achieved that would reflect the pixelized images sent to the cortical modular “detectors.” The cognitive mind of blind subjects would interpret the encoded waveforms as sight drawing upon encoded memory. If such a process would be possible it would map visual space to cortical space. There would be significant technological issues to address, but their resolution would involve the immaterial cognitive mind and its interaction with the material components of the visual cortex.

The last several posts have addressed the process by which visual spaces/images are mapped to visual cortical space of the brain so that one perceives given images. Attention has been given to a process to restore this function to sight-impaired individuals. It is a wonderful research activity that is drawing upon God’s created visual networks of the human brain. It is also my intention to suggest a process by which the Holy Spirit can instantiate neural codes directly into waveforms that are transmitted through synaptic networks to give visual information to cognitive minds.

Eduardo Fernandez and coworkers published an article in Frontiers in Neuroscience, Volume 14, August 2020, entitled “Toward Long-Term Communication with the Brain in the Blind by Intracortical Stimulation: Challenges and Future Prospects.” This very current article presents several important points that apply to interaction with neural synaptic pathways in vision. This remarkable technological application is very much in process, but to date indicates how investigators are applying some of the principles of dualist interaction to the needs of visually impaired patients. The possibility of restoring vision utilizing neural prosthetic devices is designed to bypass damaged visual pathways. We shall see that there is an absence of mention of cognitive perception by the immaterial mind, all physiological visual components reduced, it appears, to the workings of the brain itself. I will post several quotes from their article.

“All of the prosthetic devices work by exchanging information between the electronic [sensory] devices and different types of neurons. . . . several researchers are trying to develop visual prostheses designed to directly stimulate the brain. . . . a blind individual could use . . . artificially encoded neural information. . . . Although we see with the brain [the authors do not include visual perception by the immaterial cognitive mind by which neural codes are interpreted], the input information to the visual system begins at the eye, which catches and focuses light onto the retina. . . . The output neurons of the retina are the ganglion cells, which send their axons . . . through the optic nerve to the brain. This means that, in order to encode all the features of objects in the visual space . . . and the change of these features in time in the same way that the human retina does, we would need at least 1 million parallel channels. . . . Although ongoing studies suggest that electrical stimulation via multiple electrodes may give rise to useful vision . . . the device must be wireless [hence the role of the transmission of wave forms between a sensor replacing the retina where encoding begins and the neural components of the visual cortex]. . . . a key issue for the future success of cortical visual implants is related to how the brain understands artificially encoded information. [Again, no mention is made of the cognitive interpretation of neural codes by the immaterial mind.] . . . We should try to develop specific strategies to communicate with the brain of the blind in order to increase the chances of extracting useful information from the artificially encoded stimulation.”

This is exciting research, giving great promise to the visually impaired! In reading these quotations and my own comments it is my hope that one can appreciate the awesome intelligent design by our Creator God of the human visual sense! The principal question, in my view, is how encoded stimuli sent wirelessly to implanted intracortical microelectrodes will interface with neural memory codes established over a lifetime and archived in memory in the parts of the brain that function in vision. It is a daunting challenge!

I have shared what has been learned about the mechanism of synaptic transmission in my books and blog posts over the last four years. I will discuss an exciting article by Richard A. Normann and his coworkers entitled “Toward the Development of a Cortically Based Visual Neuroprosthesis” that was published in J Neurol Eng, June, 2009. The authors were motivated by the success of cochlear implants in restoring auditory capacity. The goal of their research is the creation of a visual neuroprosthesis designed to interface with the occipital cortex to restore a “useful sense of vision” in blind patients. I quote from their article, “Because retinal degeneration does not appear to spread to the neurons of the higher visual centers, a cortical approach for a visual prosthesis could provide an interventional site for virtually all forms of retinal blindness, trauma to the retinal and optic nerve, and blindness necessitated by precortical surgical procedures.”

In synaptic transmission we have seen that spike trains of action potentials carry linguistically encoded patterns of specified information instantiated within wave forms that, by quantum tunneling, are transmitted through synapses to stimulate postsynaptic action potentials that transmit the neural codes within spike trains to end points to bring about specific actions. There are both material and immaterial components to this elaborate process of dualist interaction. It is a created, designed process that provides for personal interaction between human cognitive minds and with the Mind of God through His indwelling Holy Spirit.

Let us examine the process being developed by the authors of this article and seek analogies with transmission within human synaptic networks. I quote:

“A cortical visual prosthesis, like other proposed approaches to sight restoration, would consist of a video camera [analogous with the retina], concealed in a pair of eyeglasses that generates a video data stream [spike trains of action potentials encoded with linguistic specified information] which captures the visual scene in front of the subject. This video data stream is then transformed and processed by a bioinspired retinal-like encoder [analogous to the generation of meaning and purpose within linguistic neural codes of spike trains]. This encoder would remap visual space onto cortical space and adjust the stimulus levels delivered to the implanted cortical electrodes. The digital data stream would then be transmitted wirelessly [via wave forms] to a number of electrode arrays implanted in the subject’s visual cortex [analogous to cortical modules whereby incoming wave forms transmitting neurally encoded, specified information within spike trains of action potentials are matched with wave forms within specific cortical modules to generate synchronous wave forms that are transmitted through synaptic networks with direction and purpose.]” The authors continue, “The processed digital data stream would produce a two-dimensional spatio-temporal pattern of electrical currents [analogous with encoded spike trains of action potentials] that would be injected into the cortical tissues [synaptic network endpoints within the cortex] via the implanted electrode arrays, and a two-dimension visual percept would be created in the subject [analogous to the interpretation by the cognitive mind of the meaning and purpose within the transmitted linguistic neural codes].”

I highly recommend this article to interested readers. I conclude with the following quotation from their article: “The goal of developing such a bioinspired retinal encoder is not to simply record a high-resolution image, but to transmit visual information in a meaningful way to the appropriate site(s) in the brain. Hence, the question of how the information about the external world is compressed in the retina and how this compressed representation is encoded into spike trains is of seminal importance. . . . The encoder/stimulator takes into account the irregular distribution of photoreceptors within the human retina and is able to encode the visual information in a way that is similar to the output of real retinal ganglion cells. Thus, the continuously varying input video steam is converted into neuromorphic pulse-coded signals through a circuit that emulates the function of retinal neurons.”

How human investigators are applying directly or indirectly what has been learned about synaptic network transmission to “bioinspired” medical devices is exciting and promising and reflects the awesome intelligence and design of our Creator God!

Aquiles Parodi and Jin-Woo Choi published an article in Electronics in 2019, Volume 8, p. 1344, that relates to the current consideration of waveform effects on neural stimulation. It is entitled, “A Pulse Generation Circuit for Studying Waveform Effects on Neurostimulation.” I am including a number of excerpts from their article:

“Electrical stimulation has demonstrated capabilities to alter the compound action potentials and long-term potentiation behavior of complex neural networks, even at low stimulation intensities, via an effect termed neuromodulation. Neuromodulation has been observed at all levels, from individual nerve cells to brain regions, including the synapses. . . . This effect is thought to arise from action potentials (APs) that are modulated as they propagate through individual nerve cells, depending on the nerve cell’s properties at the level of the soma, axon, and transmembrane proteins. This modulation can be enhanced or inhibited with neurostimulation. . . . Stimulation waveforms have been studied for their effects in neurostimulation. These include square or rectangular, exponential, ramp, sinusoidal, triangle and Gaussian waveforms.” These authors focused in their studies on the effects of signal shape on neurostimulation and have observed that “waveform shape has an effect on electrical stimulation outcome.”

Aspects of neural activity influenced by stimulation, in this case waveforms, have been addressed in both my books and in more recently posted blog posts on my website. I have presented preliminary evidence in previous blog posts that the immaterial, cognitive mind of humans has the capacity to generate waveforms that interact with the material components of the brain’s synaptic networks. The role of quantum tunneling has been included in these discussions, along with the recently defined potential role of quantum potential energy coupled with kinetic and potential energy in synaptic transmission. I repeat my proposal that the process of quantum tunneling constitutes the “non-material energy” identified by investigators such as William Dembski.

I am copying a lengthy excerpt from this article to show the complexity behind the generation of spike trains of action potentials and synaptic transmission that carry encoded information to effect various actions. It is our Creator God who designed these complex features with the ultimate Purpose of establishing intimate, personal communion with the crown of His creation, Man, by the power of His Holy Spirit. It is this dualist interaction that has been the focus of my own research.

“Design of stimulation waveforms is difficult, due to the diverse options and requirements for each anatomical stimulation target, the undetermined long-term effects of neurostimulation, the diversity of tissue, organ, and patient-level reactions, the unknown neural mechanisms involved [the focus of my studies], and the unknown side effects of stimulation methodology, including electrode type. The parameters of electrical stimulation waveforms, such as the amplitude, width and frequency of stimulation, have been shown to affect prosthetic sensory information in the vestibular nerve, the rate of excitation of individual nerves and nerve bundles, and the spatial selectivity within the bundles. Additionally, differences in stimulation waveforms, the polarity of current and direction, electric field shape and direction, and the temporal pattern of stimulation have been shown to have effects on the outcome of stimulation.”

We serve and worship an awesome God!

Warren M. Grill has studied the effects of stimulation waveform on the energy efficiency of neural excitation. His objective is to “understand the biophysical mechanisms underlying the effects of extracellular stimulation on neurons.” [This has been the focus of my own studies over the last 20 years, addressed in my two books and in blog posts on my website.] He continues stating that “Two important considerations when selecting or designing stimulation parameters are selectivity and efficiency. Selectivity is the ability to activate the targeted neural elements without activating the non-target neural elements. . . . Efficiency is achieving the required level of neural activation or response to achieve clinical efficacy with the minimal amount of stimulation. . . . The selectivity and efficiency of neural stimulation are dependent on the choice of the stimulation waveform.”

We see that multiple variables must be considered by the researchers to study biophysical mechanisms that exert effects on neuron stimulation. Our Creator God controls all these variables being uncovered over time by investigators to interact with the human spirit and soul! It is my judgment that God is allowing these kinds of studies to reveal to us how He communes with us! I continue:

Grill has learned that “the stimulation waveform shape can also be manipulated to increase stimulation selectivity between activation of the targeted neural elements and activation of non-target neural elements, and thereby increase the dynamic range between therapeutic effects and unwanted side effects [to the ultimate benefit of Man!] . . . . the energy required for stimulation is indeed dependent on the shape of the stimulation waveform, and highlight the importance of using an appropriately complex model to analyze the effects of waveform shape on neural excitation. . . . [there is an] optimal waveform for a particular application.”

In his concluding remarks Grill states that “the parameter space for electrical stimulation of the nervous system is extremely large, and the design and selection of stimulation parameters to achieve a desired response is a challenging problem” [giving testimony to the infinite power and intellect of our Creator God who designed these parameters for His purposes to achieve His desired responses in us!].

In previous blog posts I have cited research activities in the neurosciences that increasingly show how waveforms stimulate spike trains of action potentials that transmit encoded, specified information. Though not definitive, the data presented makes a compelling case for dualist interaction between the immaterial cognitive mind and the material neural synaptic networks of the human brain.

I am finding recent articles presenting the data of researchers in such departments as biomedical engineering that are remarkably similar in design and outcome to that being learned by neuroscientists operative within neural synaptic networks. In my next post I shall present the findings of Warren M. Grill whose article is entitled “Model-Based Analysis and Design of Waveforms for Efficient Neural Stimulation.”

In previous blogs I have shared how wave forms are involved in stimulating action potentials and that they transmit neurally encoded specified information. The nonmaterial energy has been identified as being possibly the quantum tunneling process by which synaptic transmission occurs through synchronous, coherent networks.

I now refer to excerpts from an article by Aquiles Parodi and Jin-Woo Choi entitled, “A Pulse Generation Circuit for Studying Waveform Effects on Neurostimulation.” It was published on November 14, 2019, in Electronics, Vol. 8. These will substantiate the proposals I have made that the immaterial mind, including the Mind of God, generate wave forms that stimulate spike trains of action potentials that transmit encoded specified information to bring about desired actions and purposes.

“Electrical stimulation parameters, such as waveform, amplitude, and stimulation frequency, have been shown to affect neurostimulation properties. . . . Electrical stimulation has demonstrated capabilities to alter the compound action potentials and long-term potentiation behavior of complex neural networks . . . . Neuromodulation has been observed at all levels, from individual nerve cells to brain regions, including the synapses. . . . waveform shape has an effect on electrical stimulation outcome.”

The authors refer to “the unknown neural mechanisms involved,” and this has been the subject of my research over the last 20 years, employing the neural synapse as the model for my studies of dualist interactionism. I will add additional posts that address how wave forms interact with neural synaptic networks. I will continue to search for work that addresses the generation of wave forms by the immaterial cognitive mind in addition to those I have referenced in previous blog posts.