Experimental testing of the role of cytoskeleton in the solution by neurons of problems facing the brain.
Investigation of the influence of cAMP on neuronal electric activity suggests that nerve cells can solve problems using an intraneuronal calculating medium based on the cytoskeleton. When a new problem is posed, this structure has to be disassembled and assembled by the neuronal molecular computer according to the program recorded in DNA. If DNA lacks an appropriate program, the cytoskeleton will not be assembled. In our experiments, fishes which were rotated simultaneously around two mutually perpendicular axes lost their swimming ability, and some dramatic changes were observed in the cytoskeleton of their Mauthner neurons. These changes disappeared after a long-term rest: the cytoskeleton was restored simultaneously with the ability for normal swimming.
Liberman
E A
EA
Institute of Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, B. Karetnyi Pereulok 19, Moscow 101447, Russia. efim@liberman.ru
Minina
S V
SV
Moshkov
D A
DA
Santalova
I M
IM
Chistopolskiy
I A
IA
Shklovski-Kordi
N E
NE
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006054:Goldfish / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D011340:Problem Solving; D013550:Swimming