IUBio

Robot Dreams

George Bajszar gyuri at usa.net
Mon Sep 11 03:26:25 EST 2000


In article <8pi2p7$j4t$1 at nnrp1.deja.com>,
  George Bajszar <gyuri at usa.net> wrote:
> In article <8pi14q$grl$1 at nnrp1.deja.com>,
>   George Bajszar <gyuri at usa.net> wrote:
> >
> > > > There are reasons people sleep. We know if we don't get enough
> > > > sleep, our short and long term memory is stronly affected, so
> > > > it is a natural conclusion to think that a cleanup or
> > > > reorganization of our memory is occurring during sleep, more
> > > > particularly the dreaming process is strongly associated to
> > > > memory. For an AI system such cleanup could be setup daily,
> > > > or simultaneously while it is awake.
> >
> > > I call this mental "garbage collection", without which our
> > > brains would become full and the stack will get overrun.
> > > Insanity then ensues.
> > >
> > > IMO,
> > > DLC
> >
> > Everything that we "pay attention to" will get recorded into
> > our memory. This has been well demonstrated by various
> > neuropsychological experiments.
> >
> > In one test called the Recall Test, 15 cards with various
> > images or words are flashed, and than the subject is asked
> > to recall the images or words presented, regardless of their
> > original order of presentation. Only 6 or so on average is
> > recalled. That does not mean that the memory of all 15 cards
> > are not stored in the brain.
> >
> > In another test called the Recognition Test, the 15 cards
> > are flashed to the subject and then those cards are shuffled
> > in with another set of unseen 15 cards. The 30 cards then
> > are flashed one by one and the subject is asked to identify
> > which cards he has already seen. On average, 97% of the cards
> > were correctly recognized, even when pausing for over 20
> > minute delay after presenting the first 15 cards.
> >
> > That shows that the brain is like a camcorder. Everything is
> > stored that we pay attention to. If everything would be
> > stored, our brain would certainly become full quite soon.
> > So special filtering is needed to filter out useful
> > information to keep, and clean out the unuseful ones so next
> > Morning we wake up with a fresh clean mind. Dreaming could
> > have such a major purpose.
> >
> > Supermemory techniques also demonstrate that everything gets
> > recorded. Techniques to access data are used by supermemory
> > experts by building up associative links to them.
> >
> > Perhaps Schizophrenia is a result of an overloaded brain.
> > When the brain gets full, new memory gets written out of
> > control onto areas where useful memory is already stored.
> > The stable neural network becomes unstable as the wiring of
> > neural networks will begin to deform into unstable randomness,
> > and neurons begin sending signals randomly, resulting in
> > hallucinative effects. That is my guess.
> >
> > George Bajszar
> >
>
> Perhaps sleeping has yet another purpose. I just came up with
> this small theory:
>
> As the day goes by, our neural nets storing memory are
> forming with data. But as I already described, a lot of memory
> that is unneeded is also stored during the day into random
> neurons. At the end of the day we go to sleep, and the brain
> if full with garbage data. As we go to sleep, the brain slowly
> shuts off into deep sleep mode. All this is controlled by
> chemical processes.
>
> Then from the deep sleep mode slowly arises a less deep sleep
> state where certain neurons wake up. Neurons that are in a
> stable network representing strong connections remain asleep.
> The chemical nature of strong connections allows this to take
> place.
>
> However unstable neurons that did not form significant network
> connections during the day will begin in this state to fire
> random signals. This random process sparks the dreaming process.
>
> The purpose of this would be for the brain to identify garbage
> neurons and reset them. Maybe that is why we don't remember
> dreams typically because those neurons that sparked those
> responses that lead to the dream were cleaned up for good from
> any further signaling.
>
> George Bajszar

One more thought relating the above theory back to Schizophrenia. If
the above theory holds, then associating a full overloaded brain to be
the reason behind Schizophrenia may not be the correct explanation.
Rather the same "hormones" responsible for chemically sparking activity
of "weak" garbage neurons in a dreaming state might be active when
Schizophrenic patients are awake.

I know that one pill was accidently found I think in the 60s that works
to stop Schizophrenic symptoms without anyone really knowing the reason
how the pill works. Perhaps that pill simply blocks that specific
hormone from producing the chemicals responsible for activating
the "weak" neurons for cleanup purposes that normally occurs during the
dreaming process.

In any case, Schizophrenia is related to extream stress so the brain
might be reacting with a protective cleanup reaction to the overload
taking place. Dreams are just hallucinations, we are all Schizophrenic
when we are dreaming during sleeping.

George Bajszar


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