http://www.mpg.de/news99/news44_99.htm
Again with the "neurons are not tokens" thing.
> New laser method reveals high-density information storage in the brain
>
> Using a new method of infrared-guided laser stimulation, researchers
> at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich/Germany have
> discovered that information can be stored in the brain with very high
> spatial density on the surface of every single neuron (Science 1
> October 1999).
[...]
> It has been controversially debated how precise the
> underlying modifications of the neuronal membrane can be and where
> these modifications take place. The Max Planck researchers have
> discovered that these modifications are spatially highly restricted.
> Thus, information can probably be stored with very high density on
> the surface of neurons. During the experiments, it became apparent
> that a modification of the "receptor", the postsynaptic neuron, is all
> what is needed to understand the mechanism of long-term depression.
> Therefore, modifications of the amount of neurotransmitter that is
> released during LTD can be neglected.
--
sentience@pobox.com Eliezer S. Yudkowsky
http://pobox.com/~sentience/tmol-faq/meaningoflife.html
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