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Signaling in the Brain: In Search of Functional Units

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Rosa Cao
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Abstract

What are the functional units of the brain? If the function of the brain is to process information-carrying signals, then the functional units will be the senders and receivers of those signals. Neurons have been the default candidate, with action potentials as the signals. But there are alternatives: synapses fit the action potential picture more cleanly, and glial activities (e.g., in astrocytes) might also be characterized as signaling. Are synapses or nonneuronal cells better candidates to play the role of functional units? Will informational signaling still be the best model for brain function if we move beyond the neuron doctrine?

Type
Signaling Theory in Biological and Cognitive Sciences
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 81 , Issue 5 , December 2014 , pp. 891 - 901
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

I am grateful to Peter Godfrey-Smith, Nick Shea, Jared Warren, and participants in the symposium for helpful comments and feedback. Thanks also to Christopher Moore for discussions on a series of earlier versions.

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