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Grossberg's paleontology

Grossberg's cellular biology and paleontology

"... I used to be looking for someone who was right, a real thinker. But I now realize that this rarely occurs in the same person, and that what was most important was the question, not the answer. In seeking the question, you will never find someone who is right, yet I still hope to find a real thinker. Does that make sense to you? ..."

Table of Contents


Introduction

While the focus of Grossberg's concepts is on brain [neuron, module, modal architecture]s, his work does raise questions about much more general [cell, module, modal architecture]s and their [physiology, evolution]. From his own references to this, to my questions regarding a particular role during the Cambrian Period in paleontology, ?????

Co-evolution of membrane equations and on-center-off-surround anatomies?



Cambrian Period explosion of [complex, diverse] multicellular life

The richest explosion of evolutionary diversity occurred during the Cambrian Period, approximately ?570? million years (My) ago (Phanerozoic Eon -> Paleozoic Era -> Cabrian Period). During this period, ?number? phyla, ?number? orders of life emerged. This is well illustrated at the Tyrell Museum of Paleantology in Drumheller, Alberta Canada (I am a member), for example.

John Mattick's group at the University of Queensland in Australia ?suggested that this may have been the result of a much more sophisticated [organization, modularization] of genetic information that allowed for far more [compact, ?re-usable?, robust] coding segments, thereby permitting complex life forms.

Furthermore, have there been other key developments of higher-??? that are also manifested in [cell organelle, organ] evolution, in particular with the brain, for example the neocortex to cortex?

Brain tissue does not preserve in the rocks, but work has been done, especially via non-[invasive, destructive] measurements (eg X-ray) on cranial cavities of dinosairs.