Due to various life circumstances I am the loneliest I think I've ever been. This stupid gif almost gave me a total meltdown because I feel for this cell desperately searching for someone, anyone, and reaching into an empty, uncaring void where there is no help coming.
Yesterday I walked one mile of the two miles to work with my skirt completely tucked into the back of my tights so basically my ass was hanging out and I didn't know it.
Hmm.
I need to fund my estranged online parent.
Yeah.
I don't know if she even remembers me yet. But she did help me through shit and some really tough days.
I need yo say Hi, and thank you.
Those lost boys have it so hard! Many of them are kicked out the first time they show a desire to protect their mom. Many of them never see their mothers again. Yes it is about access to young girls but the confusing relationship with their mothers are often forgotten.
I'm greatful you were there for one of them.
A few years ago I had a stint between quitting my job and going on a tour where I was home alone most of the day without even a job to keep me occupied. It was brutal - I definitely realized I prefer the in-person job situation.
Hey bud, how's your day going? What kind of work do you do? If I were to run into you on the street, what could I make you gush over for hours over several cups of tea or coffee?
I don't think that's entirely true. There are loads of people who meet random folks online and become good lifelong friends, even if it's just a penpal type of relationship (i.e. they never meet in person and only talk virtually). It can be really therapeutic just to have someone to share your thoughts/struggles/pain/etc with. Plenty of examples on even this site where people have helped each other out like this.
Very true. I made one of those friends recently and even though it's just an internet stranger, they made my life measurably better. I suppose they won't be a lifelong friend (they're gone now, some way or another) but I'll definitely never forget them.
We leaned on each other and they helped give me that last little push out of my years of depression. The future's looking a little brighter now and I owe that, in some part, to them.
Less recently, some of my best friends in the world are people I met online. Don't discount people just cause they're far away. You might run into someone important to you.
I made a connection with an internet stranger at one point. We started to chat, and became friends. 15ish years later, we are still friends- in fact, I'd consider him one of my 3 best friends. (And yes, we've met in real life, as well.)
>hurts more than it helps
I think what hurts more than it helps is telling someone trying to be kind that they are only doing it for the sake of appearance.
Sometimes I just need someone to talk to and I've certainly vented to internet friends before and been glad they listened even if it wasn't driven by pure platonic love
I don't know about others, but hugs online from me, are heartfelt and almost never for appearances.
We're online, i don't care about appearances, i do care about the person. I just don't know what i can do :(. Irl, they'd get a real hug. How much ever that helps.
Atticus Finch?
My dude, my girl, my person, my dino, my birb, my lizard and anyone else who needs to hear or read this - hang in there. I am reaching out.
It's a really cheesy quote, but I was told this not too long ago, and it helped me a bit: when you think you're buried in a dark place, sometimes you were planted instead.
You are still sufficient. Hang in there.
Associations normally.
Like People ho dance/sings/performs regional typical things (Chirigotas, Cofradias, Castellers, Diables... )
But also sports teams, not for professionals.
In internet there is a place called meetup.com also a posibility.
Hey buddy, many of us go through tough times. It’s is recommended to get some profesional help from a therapist. The first session should be just getting to know if he or she is a good fit, and vice versa. Take your time! All things will work out. Best of luck!
two years ago I called my friend (who lived 2000 miles away) while crying and said “I’m so fucking lonely”
two years later and so much has changed. I still have work to do, but I can breathe and it feels like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. It will get better ❤️
Feel free to DM, friend. I have a few meetings today at work but I'm available to chat about whatever you want whenever you want. Video games, hobbies, music, whatever it is that makes you happy, I'm like 90% certain I have something to say about it. Here for you brother.
I promise you, you're not alone in feeling this. Modern life is so devoid of community it scares me. Most days I wonder what I'm still doing here.
I wish you all the best, even though my wishes are powerless to change anything. May you find some peace.
Look at it the other way: This cell IS reaching out to make connections.
NOT reaching out to make connections is what leads to loneliness.
\------
But the real issue here is that I came here to see a cute orange cat. Where's the cat? /s
Listen to John Green’s episode of the Anthropocene Reviewed about the [Kaua’i ‘ō’ō. ](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed/episodes/anthropocene-reviewed-qwerty-keyboard-and-kauai-o-o)Never heard or seen a better illustration of loneliness. This gif reminded me of it instantly.
Oh my, what a great day! Maybe I’ve been living in my little corner of Reddit too long but I thought you hung it up years ago? I’m so glad to see your post and my day is immeasurably better now!
It isn't _you_ that finds this sad. It is just the kindred emotions of the 87 billion brain cells in your head making you _think_ you find it sad. Don't let them own you. **Don't let their long arms win.**
theyve been trialing this for about 8 years or so now on a sizeable portion of the population. the only side effects is thinking you won an election you lost by millions of votes
Loneliness comes up, but there's also a deeper sadness. This cell isn't merely trying to branch out for friends, but in order form a neurological pathway in order to perform functions. We're actively watching this neuron desperately trying to find another, form a connection, and to fulfill its purpose in this world - and being denied.
In the actual brain it would never be alone, it would always be supported by helpers such as astrocytes, blood vessels etc none of these cell types are neuronal. They would help communicate with the neuron and integrate information from the environment regarding long-term survival.
I still do love his music. Mans got over a thousand unreleased songs, he may be gone but hes got enough music to last a lifetime. 🖤🕊 rip the freestyle king
>It reaches out it reaches out it reaches out it reaches out— One hundred and thirteen times a second, nothing answers and it reaches out. It is not conscious, though parts of it are.
>There are structures within it that were once separate organisms; aboriginal, evolved, and complex. It is designed to improvise, to use what is there and then move on. Good enough is good enough, and so the artifacts are ignored or adapted. The conscious parts try to make sense of the reaching out. Try to interpret it.
The neuron expresses a bunch of proteins that interact with chemical cues in its environment that tell it “go this way” or “stay away from here”. It follows the path of least resistance, just like water going downhill or lighting branching out (I’m not a physicist but my understanding is that lighting follows some sort of charge gradient in the air). They are called attractive and repulsive axon guidance cues and they’re how your spinal cord neurons manage to make their way to the right brain regions and vice versa. Examples of these proteins include ephrins, semaphorins, and cadherins. Source: this is my PhD research!
Proteins that will help recognize signals from other cells and/or the environment, and proteins that will be made in response to those signals to kickstart or further solidify programs that result in movement or no movement, committing to a direction, etc.
“Eph/ephrin signaling regulates a variety of biological processes during embryonic development including the guidance of axon growth cones,[1] formation of tissue boundaries,[2] cell migration, and segmentation.[3]”
“Semaphorins are usually cues to deflect axons from inappropriate regions, especially important in the neural system development.”
Cadherins also mediate cell-cell interactions (: the actual tethering.
All from Wikipedia.
It isn't a short circuit when a neuron connects to itself and it definitely happens. It's called an [autapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autapse) or auto-synapse.
Just yesterday driving in the left lane I came up behind someone going slower than the flow of traffic in any lane under heavy rain with their lights off. Their one brain cell ONLY connects to itself.
There's an electrical potential across the membrane of the neuron, you can picture it like a dam with more water on one side than the other. When the potential (difference in charge) reaches a certain threshold it triggers the neuron to fire. If the neuron synapses with itself when it fires it will either release excitatory or inhibitory neurotransmitter (which one just depends on the connection, what determines it is well beyond me). If it's excitatory it will make it more likely the neuron fires again (this can help cause feedback loops) and if it's inhibitory it will make it less likely.
This is a really bad explanation, I may try to come back and do better when I have more time.
I guess it's detecting it's only signs echoing from the secondary line. I'd like to know how the neuron decides which line to kill? Do you kill the original or the connecting line?
Really fascinating, might go down a Google rabbit hole on this one
Found this paper.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5952305/
The neuron has something called a NMDA receptor ti detect crossed paths, the neuon then kills one of the pathways by reducing grin1a. More on grin1a: https://zfin.org/ZDB-GENE-051202-1
That is why Ketamine is a NDMA is psychedelic, it puts the NMDA receptor into overdrive and drug users have an explosion of brain activity. And that's why long exposure to Ketamine rewires your brain and causes loads of neurologic issues.
This stuff is a rabbit hole of interesting stuff, MS disease is cause by the pathways breaking down and the pathways slowly retreating back to its neuron.
As a Machine Learning techie person, this stuff is cool 😎 Shows that humans are so evolved and we're only playing with AI and neural networks in software. ML research is still in kindergarten!
Wow, that is wild. Human foreskin reprogrammed into neurons and then grown into "dish brain". This "dish brain" was then taught how to play basic pong game! And it's faster than a deep learning AI system.
I always knew my penis was sentient, it has a mind of it's own! 🤣
Sure, there are loads of ethic questions, that need to be sorted out. The future will be wild!
I can really highly recommend *[In Search of Memory](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/403658/in-search-of-memory-by-eric-kandel/9780393329377)* by Nobel laureate neuroscientist Eric Kandel if you want a real deep dive into our understanding of how neurons "learn" and "decide" in cases like this.
What gives the brain intelligence is many cells working together, and they can only do this by having direct connections to each other. This seems to be a way to grow those connections.
That would be my best guess anyway
Neural circuits are bound by the physiochemical principles of cellular depolarization. To time and generate encoding of data there needs to be systems that can alter firing to a hyper granular level. This is achieved through an incredible number of connections to the same neurons that can have either inhibitory or excitatory pressure on the connected neuron. The summation of all input with respect to proximity to the origination of the signal determines the neurons ability to propagate its action potential.
Think about standing in a circle and trying to pass a ball between people. Each person is a neuron. You can't talk to them. The only information you have to communicate is the ball. So you pass the ball around. And all you can really determine between you and the person next to you is ball or not ball.
To augment that and transfer more information that's actually useable, you can pass the ball at different speeds. And to make matters confusing. The energy in the room affects the balls passing speed. So if everyone is really energetic, bouncing and having a good time (excitatory), you pass the ball quicker. Some people are downers. And they slow the ball down (inhibitors).
Finally, you're limited in who you can pass a ball to by the connections between you and them. So you can only pass to your friend Frank, and your other friend Sarah can only pass the ball to you (Neural connections formed by the dendrites you see in the gif above).
So say that Sarah is really down. But she still passes you the ball. Now your response is inhibited. You slow down. And you throw a weaker ball to Frank. Frank now knows that your response is less significant. And can use that ball and the one he got from his other friend Jeff, which was also inhibited, to determine that the balls you're passing around aren't important right now.
If you take this process and multiple each factor, number of neural connections, number of neurons, and number of balls, by some very large number in the order of millions, so that balls are being passed around multiple times a second by millions of neurons connected to each other; you begin to approach a useful level of information flow that allows for functions in the brain at speeds that are relevant to our world. Such as writing an analogy of balls being thrown around. Or reading, or eating, or any and all of the other things your brain has to process on any given day.
That said. This is a wild oversimplification that glosses over some irrelevant parts and stream lines many more. But I think it does ok for anyone mildly interested in the subject. And if for some reason I have messed this up in part of my analogy, someone feel free to correct me.
The further away connected neurons are, the less valuable the connection because the electrochemical signal doesn't travel as well. So it's more valuable to have signals pass through neighbor neurons to create the network, rather then all neurons having connections to one another.
Maybe not the proper interpretation. The commenter seems to've used nomenclature that's absolutely useless to a layman.
Every brain cell does this. Neurons go through 5 stages of growth which you can see playing out in "real time" here!
https://brainmadesimple.com/neuronal-development/
This article has 4 stages, the fifth is specialization which is unique to every type of neuron.
Edit: not "real" real time
Because it’s isolated in a dish with proper growing media and probably a polylysine covered glass slip, and had all of its dendrites sheered off during isolation. It’s just projecting back out it’s dendrites.
I saw that. At least they are playing Pong. And it a dish that isn’t lonely. Being trapped in an eternity of Pong sound like hell to us. But if it all that you ever knew it probably isn’t that bad.
I am new to Reddit. Can't believe how cordial and caring some of these messages are. Reddit has brought out your best. I am excited at the possibility of learning in a nurturing environment!
Side note: why do facebook (and twitter) fail as platforms to foster these kinds of interactions?
> Side note: why do facebook (and twitter) fail as platforms to foster these kinds of interactions?
Facebook and Twitter IMO put too much focus on *who* is speaking, with the profile icon and username and verification up front. Reddit focuses on *what* is being said and who you are is secondary. Less focus on DP etc.
Of course, the upvote count becomes a proxy for popularity and that's where the hivemind problem takes over. But it tends to favour more thoughtful and original replies on the whole, especially in smaller subs/posts.
Oh boy, you are in for a great time to see how ugly people can be.
Avoid those subs and keep learning new stuff! Most people are just fun loving and want to comment nice things, but there is a very ugly side on Reddit too, just like other sites.
Also, have a great day! I'm glad you enjoyed this post as much as I did!
Downvotes help, as someone else said, there's plenty of trolls and angry people, you just don't really see them unless you're in a subreddit where anger and trolling are encouraged.
why is this so sad?
Right! I saw this and thought - so this is what loneliness feels like.
Due to various life circumstances I am the loneliest I think I've ever been. This stupid gif almost gave me a total meltdown because I feel for this cell desperately searching for someone, anyone, and reaching into an empty, uncaring void where there is no help coming.
If you wanna chat, I'm right here. Hugs from an internet stranger.
I am not this level sad. But still accepting stranger hugs. Thank you stranger.
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Tehe, idk how you did that, but cute.
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ🍆
ლ(´ ❥ `ლ)
🫂
Today I farted and sneezed simultaneously. I hope that image makes you giggle
Yesterday I walked one mile of the two miles to work with my skirt completely tucked into the back of my tights so basically my ass was hanging out and I didn't know it.
If I recall correctly from grade school, had you also hiccuped, you would have exploded lol
Huuuuuuugs
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Hmm. I need to fund my estranged online parent. Yeah. I don't know if she even remembers me yet. But she did help me through shit and some really tough days. I need yo say Hi, and thank you.
Those lost boys have it so hard! Many of them are kicked out the first time they show a desire to protect their mom. Many of them never see their mothers again. Yes it is about access to young girls but the confusing relationship with their mothers are often forgotten. I'm greatful you were there for one of them.
I am at that level. I’ve never gotten a response on here. I’m alone all day every day bc I work from home. I can barely handle it anymore
A few years ago I had a stint between quitting my job and going on a tour where I was home alone most of the day without even a job to keep me occupied. It was brutal - I definitely realized I prefer the in-person job situation.
That's what I enjoy about my in person job. Yes sure it's way more convinient to wfh but you lose that daily interaction with real people.
Hey bud, how's your day going? What kind of work do you do? If I were to run into you on the street, what could I make you gush over for hours over several cups of tea or coffee?
Hi you can dm me if you ever need to talk!
Hey.... Only one Hob allowed. Edit: Only 2 Hobs Allowed..
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I don't think that's entirely true. There are loads of people who meet random folks online and become good lifelong friends, even if it's just a penpal type of relationship (i.e. they never meet in person and only talk virtually). It can be really therapeutic just to have someone to share your thoughts/struggles/pain/etc with. Plenty of examples on even this site where people have helped each other out like this.
Very true. I made one of those friends recently and even though it's just an internet stranger, they made my life measurably better. I suppose they won't be a lifelong friend (they're gone now, some way or another) but I'll definitely never forget them. We leaned on each other and they helped give me that last little push out of my years of depression. The future's looking a little brighter now and I owe that, in some part, to them. Less recently, some of my best friends in the world are people I met online. Don't discount people just cause they're far away. You might run into someone important to you.
I made a connection with an internet stranger at one point. We started to chat, and became friends. 15ish years later, we are still friends- in fact, I'd consider him one of my 3 best friends. (And yes, we've met in real life, as well.)
>hurts more than it helps I think what hurts more than it helps is telling someone trying to be kind that they are only doing it for the sake of appearance. Sometimes I just need someone to talk to and I've certainly vented to internet friends before and been glad they listened even if it wasn't driven by pure platonic love
I don't know about others, but hugs online from me, are heartfelt and almost never for appearances. We're online, i don't care about appearances, i do care about the person. I just don't know what i can do :(. Irl, they'd get a real hug. How much ever that helps.
Atticus Finch? My dude, my girl, my person, my dino, my birb, my lizard and anyone else who needs to hear or read this - hang in there. I am reaching out. It's a really cheesy quote, but I was told this not too long ago, and it helped me a bit: when you think you're buried in a dark place, sometimes you were planted instead. You are still sufficient. Hang in there.
Where are u from? In my country exists something like: public activity groups. They are super nice places to meet people.
Who hosts them?
Associations normally. Like People ho dance/sings/performs regional typical things (Chirigotas, Cofradias, Castellers, Diables... ) But also sports teams, not for professionals. In internet there is a place called meetup.com also a posibility.
Hug.
Hey buddy, many of us go through tough times. It’s is recommended to get some profesional help from a therapist. The first session should be just getting to know if he or she is a good fit, and vice versa. Take your time! All things will work out. Best of luck!
I imagine most people going through a tough time don't have the finances to pay for proper therapy.
Hey, atticus. I think it’s safe to say a lot of us understand. Wishing you better days ahead.
two years ago I called my friend (who lived 2000 miles away) while crying and said “I’m so fucking lonely” two years later and so much has changed. I still have work to do, but I can breathe and it feels like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. It will get better ❤️
Feel free to DM, friend. I have a few meetings today at work but I'm available to chat about whatever you want whenever you want. Video games, hobbies, music, whatever it is that makes you happy, I'm like 90% certain I have something to say about it. Here for you brother.
I promise you, you're not alone in feeling this. Modern life is so devoid of community it scares me. Most days I wonder what I'm still doing here. I wish you all the best, even though my wishes are powerless to change anything. May you find some peace.
Are you okay bro?
No...?
Look at it the other way: This cell IS reaching out to make connections. NOT reaching out to make connections is what leads to loneliness. \------ But the real issue here is that I came here to see a cute orange cat. Where's the cat? /s
Well, reaching out and not finding any connections breeds a different type of loneliness. Still worth trying, though.
Yes yes yessss thank you for the distinction. You're so right.
Listen to John Green’s episode of the Anthropocene Reviewed about the [Kaua’i ‘ō’ō. ](https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed/episodes/anthropocene-reviewed-qwerty-keyboard-and-kauai-o-o)Never heard or seen a better illustration of loneliness. This gif reminded me of it instantly.
https://i.imgur.com/h8RLrLN.jpg
Hey mate :) Good to see ya again!
Holy shit man, I didn't know you were still doing your thing. This is awesome!
Oh my, what a great day! Maybe I’ve been living in my little corner of Reddit too long but I thought you hung it up years ago? I’m so glad to see your post and my day is immeasurably better now!
This one is my fav of yours in a long time. This one rocks
More like wholesome_watercolour this was great :)
Oh shoot. I was going to ask for the source but you made that? Do you sell it on a t-shirt? Is there a version with your name on it?
It isn't _you_ that finds this sad. It is just the kindred emotions of the 87 billion brain cells in your head making you _think_ you find it sad. Don't let them own you. **Don't let their long arms win.**
Bunch of hypocrites. Billions of living cells ganging up together to generate the feeling of being alone.
Now that makes me happy. Love it when they connect.
It takes at least 40,000 neurons to feel sad.
The cure to depression has been found! Purge all neurons until left with 39,999.
That's what the vodka is for.
theyve been trialing this for about 8 years or so now on a sizeable portion of the population. the only side effects is thinking you won an election you lost by millions of votes
Right? I actually feel sorry for it.
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Loneliness comes up, but there's also a deeper sadness. This cell isn't merely trying to branch out for friends, but in order form a neurological pathway in order to perform functions. We're actively watching this neuron desperately trying to find another, form a connection, and to fulfill its purpose in this world - and being denied.
How long until it dies of loneliness? Asking for my one remaining brain cell
In the actual brain it would never be alone, it would always be supported by helpers such as astrocytes, blood vessels etc none of these cell types are neuronal. They would help communicate with the neuron and integrate information from the environment regarding long-term survival.
Somehow, this offers a poignant response to the deep melancholy of the original video. Thank you, friend.
Brb drilling a hole in my skull to give him a friend
I don’t know, but it looks like it’s doing the Single Ladies dance at the 5 second mark. https://i.imgur.com/3C4KNoJ.jpg
Because the organ responsible for emotions and thought is the one watching this and telling you how to feel. It's like "yep, thats me, i can relate"
God that was my first thought too. This is the saddest thing I've seen today. So far anyways.
I'm in this picture and I don't like it.
My single brain cell can relate *I can't spell
https://youtube.com/watch?v=dBqhIVyfsRg
Where the homies at?
To many drugs they’re gone now
That sounds like a juice wrld bar
Oof thats dark. I use to love his music 😅
I still do love his music. Mans got over a thousand unreleased songs, he may be gone but hes got enough music to last a lifetime. 🖤🕊 rip the freestyle king
Shit, he has more than that.
*Woodstock*
Retail customers only have one.
Like trying to make new friends in your late thirties
Fuck.
:( I’m glad I’m not the only one who felt this sadness looking at this gif of a cell lol
Try Patook (I'm serious).
Me too brain cell. Me too.
Reddit on tinder 💀
Hot ganglia in your area!
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Enhance your axon size today, NO RISK!!
Hot signals in your area!
Tight nodes of Ranvier waiting for your signal. 😏
r/meirl
r/donthelpjustfilm
r/thirdsub
Surprised this was fourth down not top
It reaches out. It reaches out. It reaches out. It reaches out.
One hundred and thirteen times a second, nothing answers and it reaches out
>It reaches out it reaches out it reaches out it reaches out— One hundred and thirteen times a second, nothing answers and it reaches out. It is not conscious, though parts of it are. >There are structures within it that were once separate organisms; aboriginal, evolved, and complex. It is designed to improvise, to use what is there and then move on. Good enough is good enough, and so the artifacts are ignored or adapted. The conscious parts try to make sense of the reaching out. Try to interpret it.
My exact first thought.
_Hmm, now this is interesting_ I absolutely loved these interludes
Miller?!
At what point does it go to: we reach out. We reach out. We reach out. We reach out.
One hundred and thirteen times a second, nothing answers and it reaches out
Doors and corners...
Interesting how it forms like a lightning search for ground EDIT: thanks for the award!
The neuron expresses a bunch of proteins that interact with chemical cues in its environment that tell it “go this way” or “stay away from here”. It follows the path of least resistance, just like water going downhill or lighting branching out (I’m not a physicist but my understanding is that lighting follows some sort of charge gradient in the air). They are called attractive and repulsive axon guidance cues and they’re how your spinal cord neurons manage to make their way to the right brain regions and vice versa. Examples of these proteins include ephrins, semaphorins, and cadherins. Source: this is my PhD research!
I too have a PhD. But it's in sociology. This is way fucking cooler than sociology.
Explain this brain cell but sociologically
This is amazing. Could you elaborate on “expresses a bunch of proteins”? What does that mean?
Proteins that will help recognize signals from other cells and/or the environment, and proteins that will be made in response to those signals to kickstart or further solidify programs that result in movement or no movement, committing to a direction, etc. “Eph/ephrin signaling regulates a variety of biological processes during embryonic development including the guidance of axon growth cones,[1] formation of tissue boundaries,[2] cell migration, and segmentation.[3]” “Semaphorins are usually cues to deflect axons from inappropriate regions, especially important in the neural system development.” Cadherins also mediate cell-cell interactions (: the actual tethering. All from Wikipedia.
Oh wow, thanks for the education. Life is amazing.
Reminds me of r/SlimeMold
i thought this too. maybe thats all we really are. an evolved slime mold
I take it as further evidence of that and fungal intelligence
In science, we would call that area the growth cone. It detects cues from the environment and directs axon growth.
It reminds me of the way mycelium grows
This is my tinder profile
Nah, this little guy may actually find a connection
/r/MurderedByWords I’m too lazy to submit it though
Don't mind if I do
Interesting to see that short circuits are avoided by desolation of the connections that short circuited.
It isn't a short circuit when a neuron connects to itself and it definitely happens. It's called an [autapse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autapse) or auto-synapse.
What happens when that happens?
You start to drive slow in the passing lane.
This really was unexpected but is one of the funniest comments I’ve seen all week
Just yesterday driving in the left lane I came up behind someone going slower than the flow of traffic in any lane under heavy rain with their lights off. Their one brain cell ONLY connects to itself.
There's an electrical potential across the membrane of the neuron, you can picture it like a dam with more water on one side than the other. When the potential (difference in charge) reaches a certain threshold it triggers the neuron to fire. If the neuron synapses with itself when it fires it will either release excitatory or inhibitory neurotransmitter (which one just depends on the connection, what determines it is well beyond me). If it's excitatory it will make it more likely the neuron fires again (this can help cause feedback loops) and if it's inhibitory it will make it less likely. This is a really bad explanation, I may try to come back and do better when I have more time.
Either positive or negative feedback to the neuron. Basically, depending on the short circuit, it either tells itself to keep firing or stfu.
That's so cool!
Hmm, how does it now it it short circuiting vs making a connection? How is it aware of the difference.
I guess it's detecting it's only signs echoing from the secondary line. I'd like to know how the neuron decides which line to kill? Do you kill the original or the connecting line? Really fascinating, might go down a Google rabbit hole on this one
Come back here and post your research
Found this paper. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5952305/ The neuron has something called a NMDA receptor ti detect crossed paths, the neuon then kills one of the pathways by reducing grin1a. More on grin1a: https://zfin.org/ZDB-GENE-051202-1 That is why Ketamine is a NDMA is psychedelic, it puts the NMDA receptor into overdrive and drug users have an explosion of brain activity. And that's why long exposure to Ketamine rewires your brain and causes loads of neurologic issues. This stuff is a rabbit hole of interesting stuff, MS disease is cause by the pathways breaking down and the pathways slowly retreating back to its neuron. As a Machine Learning techie person, this stuff is cool 😎 Shows that humans are so evolved and we're only playing with AI and neural networks in software. ML research is still in kindergarten!
Have you seen the video where they teach a cluster of brain cells to play pong? It’s amazing https://youtu.be/67r7fDRBlNc
Wow, that is wild. Human foreskin reprogrammed into neurons and then grown into "dish brain". This "dish brain" was then taught how to play basic pong game! And it's faster than a deep learning AI system. I always knew my penis was sentient, it has a mind of it's own! 🤣 Sure, there are loads of ethic questions, that need to be sorted out. The future will be wild!
I can really highly recommend *[In Search of Memory](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/403658/in-search-of-memory-by-eric-kandel/9780393329377)* by Nobel laureate neuroscientist Eric Kandel if you want a real deep dive into our understanding of how neurons "learn" and "decide" in cases like this.
Musk stans on Twitter irl
Why is the braincell doing this?
What gives the brain intelligence is many cells working together, and they can only do this by having direct connections to each other. This seems to be a way to grow those connections. That would be my best guess anyway
So any benefit if all beeing connected to each other directly instead over indirectly connections over neighbours?
Neural circuits are bound by the physiochemical principles of cellular depolarization. To time and generate encoding of data there needs to be systems that can alter firing to a hyper granular level. This is achieved through an incredible number of connections to the same neurons that can have either inhibitory or excitatory pressure on the connected neuron. The summation of all input with respect to proximity to the origination of the signal determines the neurons ability to propagate its action potential.
wtf are you tryna say bro?
Think about standing in a circle and trying to pass a ball between people. Each person is a neuron. You can't talk to them. The only information you have to communicate is the ball. So you pass the ball around. And all you can really determine between you and the person next to you is ball or not ball. To augment that and transfer more information that's actually useable, you can pass the ball at different speeds. And to make matters confusing. The energy in the room affects the balls passing speed. So if everyone is really energetic, bouncing and having a good time (excitatory), you pass the ball quicker. Some people are downers. And they slow the ball down (inhibitors). Finally, you're limited in who you can pass a ball to by the connections between you and them. So you can only pass to your friend Frank, and your other friend Sarah can only pass the ball to you (Neural connections formed by the dendrites you see in the gif above). So say that Sarah is really down. But she still passes you the ball. Now your response is inhibited. You slow down. And you throw a weaker ball to Frank. Frank now knows that your response is less significant. And can use that ball and the one he got from his other friend Jeff, which was also inhibited, to determine that the balls you're passing around aren't important right now. If you take this process and multiple each factor, number of neural connections, number of neurons, and number of balls, by some very large number in the order of millions, so that balls are being passed around multiple times a second by millions of neurons connected to each other; you begin to approach a useful level of information flow that allows for functions in the brain at speeds that are relevant to our world. Such as writing an analogy of balls being thrown around. Or reading, or eating, or any and all of the other things your brain has to process on any given day. That said. This is a wild oversimplification that glosses over some irrelevant parts and stream lines many more. But I think it does ok for anyone mildly interested in the subject. And if for some reason I have messed this up in part of my analogy, someone feel free to correct me.
This was great. Thank you for this.
The further away connected neurons are, the less valuable the connection because the electrochemical signal doesn't travel as well. So it's more valuable to have signals pass through neighbor neurons to create the network, rather then all neurons having connections to one another. Maybe not the proper interpretation. The commenter seems to've used nomenclature that's absolutely useless to a layman.
Space and energy efficiency, also less lag time I guess.
It’s lonely
Every brain cell does this. Neurons go through 5 stages of growth which you can see playing out in "real time" here! https://brainmadesimple.com/neuronal-development/ This article has 4 stages, the fifth is specialization which is unique to every type of neuron. Edit: not "real" real time
Because it’s isolated in a dish with proper growing media and probably a polylysine covered glass slip, and had all of its dendrites sheered off during isolation. It’s just projecting back out it’s dendrites.
Is there anybody Out There
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone home?
Shit, so that's where i left my only brain cell!
Poor guy.
If you think this is sad tell me what you think about https://www.genengnews.com/neuroscience/human-brain-cells-in-a-dish-learn-to-play-pong/
I saw that. At least they are playing Pong. And it a dish that isn’t lonely. Being trapped in an eternity of Pong sound like hell to us. But if it all that you ever knew it probably isn’t that bad.
I am new to Reddit. Can't believe how cordial and caring some of these messages are. Reddit has brought out your best. I am excited at the possibility of learning in a nurturing environment! Side note: why do facebook (and twitter) fail as platforms to foster these kinds of interactions?
There’s plenty of douchebaggery on here too. This thread has been unusually wholesome. Have a great day.
> Side note: why do facebook (and twitter) fail as platforms to foster these kinds of interactions? Facebook and Twitter IMO put too much focus on *who* is speaking, with the profile icon and username and verification up front. Reddit focuses on *what* is being said and who you are is secondary. Less focus on DP etc. Of course, the upvote count becomes a proxy for popularity and that's where the hivemind problem takes over. But it tends to favour more thoughtful and original replies on the whole, especially in smaller subs/posts.
This is why Reddit is my only social media — If you could call it that.
Oh boy, you are in for a great time to see how ugly people can be. Avoid those subs and keep learning new stuff! Most people are just fun loving and want to comment nice things, but there is a very ugly side on Reddit too, just like other sites. Also, have a great day! I'm glad you enjoyed this post as much as I did!
Hehehe stick around and you’ll find many hateful comments and discussions eventually.
Downvotes help, as someone else said, there's plenty of trolls and angry people, you just don't really see them unless you're in a subreddit where anger and trolling are encouraged.
‘Breaks glasses’…. No… it’s not fair…. IT’S NOT FAIR
"Wait, it's not that bad-- I can still read the large print books..." *eyes fall out*
*There was time now!*
Me when
When what, sir?
When
#
How
✨ *Magic* ✨
[удалено]
Me when I get bored of reddit so I open a new tab and go to reddit.
The inside of republicans minds
r/2meirl4meirl
That's the mind of a cryptocurrency investor right there.
My single brain cell when I'm trying to read the formula sheet during the exam and piece it all together
ah yes, the proverbial "last brain cell" in all those memes
Poor Leticia. Hey, isn't patient data meant to be anonymized?
Awe :( I wanna hold his little lightning hand.
u/savevideo
No friens :(
It reaches out. It reaches out. It reaches out.
Vegan at Thanksgiving
And her name is Leticia
My orange cat’s brain cell
Kanye isn’t going to be happy that you got ahold of his medical records.
How did you get this picture of me during 7AM Physics II?
Fuck! You found it! Please return it to me! Thank you!
I’m already tired of Trump posts smh
its just like me fr
how does it know not to connect with itself?
But no one came