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The Thalamus - The Kernel in Your Mind
corbettw writes "This article on Yahoo Science News describes a new finding that explains how the thalamus is used by your brain to essentially boot your brain, and provide for central processing and control of all impulses going to and from the cortex. The article describes its function as an operating system, but from the description it actually seems closer to the functions of a kernel." From the article: "The finding, published last week in the journal Neuroscience, changes the way scientists understand nitric oxide's role in the brain, and it also has them rethinking the function of the thalamus, where it is released. The thalamus was thought to be a fairly primitive structure, sort of a gate that could either open and allow sensory information to stream into the cortex, the higher functioning part of the brain, or cut off the flow entirely. Godwin says the new research shows it's more accurate to think of the thalamus not as a gate but as a club bouncer, who doesn't simply allow a huge rush of people to go in or no one at all, but picks and chooses whom to let in and out. "
it's more accurate to think of the thalamus not as a gate but as a club bouncer, who doesn't simply allow a huge rush of people to go in or no one at all, but picks and chooses whom to let in and out. "
Thalamus: Whoa buddy, you can't go in.
Neuron: But, I'm with her!
Thalamus: Her? Yeah right!
Neuron: Cortica! Cortica! Come back! We can be together!
[meanwhile in the real world]
John: Hey Bobby, catch... whoa, heads up!
Bobby: Owwww!
"the thalamus is used by your brain to essentially boot your brain"
Which now raises hope for those of us who want dual-boot flexibility.
Where were you when the voynix came?
FTP:"Your Brain Works Like the Internet"
A collection of pipes moving pr0n around?
"We are all geniuses when we dream"
- E.M. Cioran
But then they drifted off topic and started arguing about Nazis and Hitler and the discussion had to be ended.
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
From: Andy T.
:-)
To: The Almighty
I still maintain the point that designing a monolithic kernel in -3000 BC is a fundamental error.
Be thankful you are not my student. You would not get a high grade for such a design
but i'm paging out to my liver!
That which does not kill her only prolongs my agony.
From the summary:
The article describes its function as an operating system, but from the description it actually seems closer to the functions of a kernel.
Does this mean we should call the brain the Brain/Thalamus? It's unfair to give the entire package precedence over the kernel, as one is useless without the other.
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
I don't know if I can trust any kernel to be compared to the brain, after all Windows gets the Blue Scream of Death and the Linux gets Panic Attacks, DOS has to be rebooted often to modify memory management, Unix gets segmentation falls and bus errors. This is terrible news, I think I am just going to walk around in circles until I stop thinking about this... Damn! It's a deadlock forced by a race condition! I just want to go to sleep.
You can't handle the truth.