133 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
133 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
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(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=75, TM=2, BM=2)
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Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
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Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
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PO BOX 1031
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Mesquite, TX 75150
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO RESTRICTIONS
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on duplicating, publishing or distributing the
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files on KeelyNet except where noted!
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October 30, 1993
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BRAIN3.ASC
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Is the Brain Really Necessary?
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(Or What and Where Is Consciousness)
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This was the question asked by British neurologist John Lorber when
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he addressed a conference of pediatricians in 1980. Such a
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frivolous sounding question was sparked by case studies Lorber had
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been involved in since the mid sixties.
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The case studies involve victims of an ailment known as
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hydrocephalus, more commonly known as water on the brain. The
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condition results from an abnormal build up of cerebrospinal fluid
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and can cause severe retardation and death if not treated.
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Two young children with hydrocephalus referred to Lorber presented
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with normal mental development for their age. In both children,
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there was no evidence of a cerebral cortex. One of the children
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died at age three months, the second at twelve months was still
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following a normal development profile with the exception of the
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apparent lack of cerebral tissue shown by repeated medical testing.
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An account of the children was published in Developmental Medicine
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and Child Neurology.
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Later, a colleague at Sheffield University became aware of a young
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man with a larger than normal head. He was referred to Lorber even
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though it had not caused him any difficulty. Although the boy had
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an IQ of 126 and had a first class honors degree in mathematics, he
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had "virtually no brain".
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A noninvasive measurement of radio density known as CAT scan showed
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the boy's skull was lined with a thin layer of brain cells to a
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millimeter in thickness. The rest of his skull was filled with
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cerebrospinal fluid. The young man continues a normal life with the
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exception of his knowledge that he has no brain.
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Although anecdotal accounts may be found in medical literature,
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Lorber is the first to provide a systematic study of such cases. He
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has documented over 600 scans of people with hydrocephalus and has
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broken them into four groups:
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those with nearly normal brains.
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those with 50-70% of the cranium filled with CSF
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those with 70-90% of the cranium filled with CSF
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and the most severe group with 95% of the cranial cavity
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filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
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Page 1
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Of the last group, which comprised less than ten percent of the
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study, half were profoundly retarded. The remaining half had IQs
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greater than 100.
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Skeptics have claimed that it was an error of interpretation of the
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scans themselves. Lorber himself admits that reading a CAT scan can
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be tricky. He also has said that one would not make such a claim
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without evidence.
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In answer to attacks that he has not precisely quantified the amount
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of brain tissue missing, he adds, "I can't say whether the
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mathematics student has a brain weighing 50 grams or 150 grams, but
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it is clear that it is nowhere near the normal 1.5 kilograms."
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Many neurologists feel that this is a tribute to the brains
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redundancy and it's ability to reassign functions. Others, however,
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are not so sure. Patrick Wall, professor of anatomy at University
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College, London states "To talk of redundancy is a copout to get
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around something you don't understand."
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Norman Geschwind, a neurologist at Bostons Beth Israel Hospital
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agrees: "Certainly the brain has a remarkable capacity for
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reassigning functions following trauma, but you can usually pick up
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some kind of deficit with the right tests, even after apparently
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full recovery."
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Anthony Smith "The Mind" New York
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Viking Press, 1984, p.230
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Roger Lewin "Is Your Brain Really Necessary?"
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Science 210 December 1980, p. 1232
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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If you have comments or other information relating to such topics
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as this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the
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Vangard Sciences address as listed on the first page.
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Thank you for your consideration, interest and support.
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Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
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Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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If we can be of service, you may contact
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Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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Page 2
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