The Nervous System - Part 1

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The Nervous System - Part 1 - Spinal Cord
Meaning, Behavior & The Sequence Illustrations of System 4

12 Sequential Steps in Three Cycles

by Robert Campbell, 2006

Abstract

The rudiments of System 4 are reviewed in brief by first reviewing the Universal Hierarchy that is specified by the Primary Universal Term UT9. This specifies the meaning implicit in each of the four active interfaces or Centers that constitute all of the nine Terms of System 4. There are only nine possible ways that these four interfaces can mutually relate with respect to a common inside and outside, each way delineating a Term. There are nevertheless expressive and regenerative modes to most of the Terms that allow System 4 to span and integrate events in space and time. The Primary and Secondary Universal Sets have a four Step transform sequence that regulates the six Step Transform sequences of both modes of the Particular Terms into three four Step Cycles. Three Particular Sets transform through the six term sequence one Step apart. Since there are seven expressive terms and five regenerative terms in the transform sequence of each Particular Set it takes twelve Steps in three four Step Cycles to complete all sequences. These transform Steps correspond precisely synapse by synapse to how the human nervous system has evolved to meaningfully integrate experience. This is powerful confirmation of System 4 as an accurate representation of the Cosmic Order as it applies in living biological systems. It specifies the structural pattern implicit in the evolutionary process of the biosphere. It also applies to biological evolution as it may occur anywhere in the universe.

Introduction

The illustrations below show how the human nervous system meaningfully integrates experience synapse by synapse at the spinal level. Meaning and learning evolve throughout our life, according to how our nervous system is structured. Elements of experience are learned piecemeal and are gradually assimilated into more coherent complex actions and thoughts. Each element of experience can be considered a unit memory. For a baby, grasping with the fingers is oen of the first things we learn. We are born much more helpless than other animals and must learn nearly everything through conscious effort even before we have language to assist us.

As we shall see below, proprioceptive stimulation, in the regenerative mode of System 4, is indispensible to this learning process. The proprioceptive nervous system tells us how the body is positioned in space, even for a baby grasping with its fingers. Proprioceptive neuromuscular spindles, the tiny sensory organs located throughout the muscles of the body, are structured to allow simulation of anticipated actions before they are carried out. Simplified illustrations show that they are structured to allow simulation independent of the parent muscle. The regenerative mode simulation that anticipates a future response alternates with the expressive mode that is a conditioned response from the past.

So learning is more than just a causal process of conditioned responses to external stimuli, although this plays a part. Learning also involves anticipation of a future desired result and a process of simulation to achieve it. Input from both a causal past and an anticipated future must find mutual reconciliation in current action sequences. We are biologically structured to span space and time and integrate history. As we learn and assimilate behavior piecemeal it tends to become automated as habitual at the spinal level. The spinal cord is an unconscious brain that is nevertheless invested with an intuitive (or instinctive) capacity to make adjustments according to proprioceptive sensory input.

As we mature, language greatly enhances our cerebral abilities to consciously simulate experience in abstraction and formulate far reaching plans that nevertheless require continual adjustment according to the ever changing flux of circumstance.

Note: A review of System 4 Terms is recommended. The meaning within each of the nine Terms is developed in brief, along with a brief outline of the transform sequences of Particular and Universal Sets. A more complete explanation of the meaning implicit within each Term is given there. It will make the development here easier to follow.

A Simplified Outline of System 4

The following simplifies the essence of System 4 as much as possible. Keep in mind that language is limited in the degree to which it can describe how the System works, so that meanings must be interpreted contextually. Meaning is implicitly defined by the way the System works in each specific circumstance. The methodology of the System both requires and facilitates direct intuitive insight into the dynamics of phenomenal experience. It delineates the structure and process of phenomenal experience, and the human nervous system at the spinal level has structurally evolved to work in precise accord with System 4. Since System 4 is structural rather than behavioral it embraces all possible varieties of behavior.

The Universal Hierarchy

As explained more elsewhere there is a System 4 hierarchy involving 4 active Centers(C) that implicitly give direction to one another as follows:

(C1) IDEA → (C2) KNOWLEDGE → (C3) ROUTINE → (C4) FORM

The words associated with each Center are very general indications of meaning associated with the structural development of meaning within each of the nine System 4 Terms as they may apply in any circumstance. It is noteworthy, even remarkable, that these four words structurally define coherent meaning within each Term as they dynamically relate to one another in the evolving matrix of interactions through the 12 Step Sequence outlined below. We can easily see that the hierarchy applies to any human activity. There is always an Idea that gives direction to our learned Knowledge that in turn directs a Routine of visceral and muscular activity that results in an altered Form of the body in concert with the Form of the environment. The hierarchy is universal and is designated by Term 9 of System 4. If we focus on the neurological and muscular processes that animate us we can see that the four words in the universal hierarchy have biological correlates as follows:

C1 - Host (Idea):

The Host human being is an archetypal energy pattern that is clothed in molecules in common with the whole universe. We have evolved in the biosphere over hundreds of millions of years as real people housed within a physical body. We are the proprietors of our body, responsible for its care and maintenance, but we are also more than the physical molecules that make it up. We animate our bodies according to subsumed ideas that we entertain and may commit our actions to. The subsumed ideas are generated by electronic processes going on in our central nervous system. There is a specific pattern of electrochemical activity associated with the generation of every creative idea that we Host. We continue to evolve accordingly.

C2 - Organs (Knowledge):

Knowledge is invested in our body's infrastructure. It is implicit in the complement of Organs that make us up and that have evolved over a history of learning, including our evolutionary history as a species and the species that historically preceded us. The vertebrate lineage from reptiles to humans has a similar quadruped body plan of similar Organs that is archetypal in character. This allows us to benefit from an evolutionary history of learning to which we are indebted. Knowledge is especially implicit in the neurological Organs of our bodies, in our central and peripheral nervous systems that allow us to integrate our experience meaningfully. This includes our personal history of learning and the synaptic connections that have developed in our nervous system as a result. Knowledge in this biological respect thus embraces how Organs are organized to interrelate.

C3 - Cells (Routine):

Cells are the factories that constitute Organs and that manufacture our molecular forms through highly recursive biochemical Routines that are catalyzed by complex legions of protein enzymes that catalyze even themselves. They increase reaction rates by millions of times and so are indispensable to every cells living function. Cells sustain our biological bodies and its complex interdependent array of processes, from blood cells that transport energy to muscle cells and to the nerve cells that animate our muscle organs. Because enzymes remain chemically unaltered and employ phosphate ions as the energy of exchange, each Cell is a highly organized energy pattern that clothes itself in molecules according to its needs. The archetypal energy patterns of Cells that have evolved over eons direct molecular Forms not vice versa. Molecules are not street smart.

C4 - Molecular Form:

The physical universe is constructed of 92 naturally occurring atomic elements that chemically combine into inorganic and organic molecules of potentially endless variety in biological systems. Atoms and molecules have closed surfaces generated by System 3. As solids and liquids they have opaque surfaces that allow us to see, feel, and interact with physical Forms through the physical Form of our own body which we have an archetypal capacity to animate as we wish in response to our physical circumstance. We have evolved biologically through the agency of System 4 which is subsumed by System 3 such that we live in the context of the physical universe with a physical Form.

We can thus reinterpret the universal hierarchy as it biologically relates to human behavior as follows:

Idea (1)	→	Knowledge (2)	→	Routine (3)	→	Form (4)
Host (C1)	→	Organs (C2)	→	Cells (C3)	→	Molecular Form (C4)

The above four Centers define the meaning implicit within each of the nine Terms. Six of the Terms are particular and three Sets of Particular Centers follow through a repeating Six Step Term Sequence 1, 4, 2, 8, 5, 7 one Step apart in the following order:

Step	Term	Meaning
1	T1	Perception of need in relation to response capacity
2	T4	Ordered sensory input alternately from the environment or simulated
3	T2	Creation of idea as a potential action response or creative concept
4	T8	Balanced response to sensory input stimuli as a motor output to muscles
5	T5	Action sequence of muscular activity with proprioceptive feedback
6	T7	Sequence encoded as a unit memory for recall to T1 and another sequence

Because the three Sets follow one Step apart Terms 8, 7, and 4 alternate with Terms 1, 2 and 5. Term 7 is a memory term since the inverse of the number 7 is 1, 4, 2, 8, 5, 7 repeating.

There are Expressive and Regenerative modes for most of the Terms. In the Regenerative mode Centers 1 and 2 exchange places.

All of the Particular Terms except T8 have an Expressive Mode that is conditioned from past experience, and a Regenerative Mode that simulates an anticipated action. The Particular T8E is always Expressive and acts as a pivot for transformations between Expressive and Regenerative sequences. A total of 12 Steps are thus required for all three Sets to complete 7 expressive and 5 regenerative Term transformations in their respective sequences. In each Step, Expressive and Regenerative Particular Terms from the three Sets interact to span past and future. They thus span and integrate space and time. The 12 Steps are divided into three 4 Step Cycles by the Universal Sets that each have 4 Step transform sequences.

Each such Particular Set term Sequence follows a 12 Step path through the nervous system, synapse by synapse. There can be many parallel Particular Sequences active at once through parallel neural pathways since the nervous system is structured with the same number of synaptic junctions in each pathway. The Universal Sets integrate all Particular pathways into a coherently organized and meaningful activity.

The Primary Universal Set and Its Transform Sequence

Term 9 is the Universal Hierarchy specified by the Primary Universal Set. It begins each Cycle in the Term 9 position where it stays for Steps 1 and 2. The four active interfaces (centers) of UT9 prescribe the 4 Step Cycles. UT9 has universal access to relevant T7 Host memories of the Quantum Sensorium called the Void. It identifies them as relevant Ideas(1) for recall in Step 1. In Step 2 the recall is Known(2). Then it transforms mid Cycle to a Regenerative UT8R term concerned with universally balancing available energy resources to fuel a priority of action needs in all the various Particular pathways. It budgets energy expenditures. Each Cycle ends after four Steps when the Primary Universal Set transforms from UT8R back to T9 to begin the next Cycle. The Term 8 Regenerative mode always belongs to the Primary Universal Set because it implicitly specifies the context as the Host species. The Primary and Secondary Universal Terms cohere together. The Primary Set relates to the Host species. The Secondary Set relates to specific Host human beings.

The Secondary Universal Set and Its Transform Sequence

The Secondary Universal Set begins each Cycle as Term 3. UT3 is concerned with the Transference of Idea into Form, via the coalescence of Knowledge with Routine. As T9 identifies relevant Host Ideas(1) as memories in the Void in Step 1, UT3 integrates then as a coherent action plan that can translate Idea(1) into Form(4). In Step 2 of each Cycle UT3 transforms to UT6 which is the Corporeal Body of a specific Host whole human being. UT6 does not transform in Step 3, but the Primary Universal Set transforms to UT8R which coheres with it.

This works like the coherence in the Space Frame side of System 3. In this case it budgets energy resources to an integrated proposed action plan implicit in the UT6 Host. In Step 4 the UT6 Term transforms to a universal T2E expressive idea term, where UT8R coheres with it again. This explicitly commits resources to an integrated planned idea entertained by the Host. At the end of each Cycle both Universal Sets transform back to their original positions to begin a new Cycle. Because there are three synchronous Particular Sets all twelve Particular Terms are represented in each Cycle but in different Sets.

A Note on the Void

The Void is the timeless, formless and thus boundless conjugate reciprocal of the physical universe of form. It is a spatially indeterminate quantum energy field also called the Quantum Sensorium. It is a master memory bank. The System 3 diagram illustrates how the universe is discontinuous. It oscillates very rapidly back and forth between still atomic space frames and timeless and formless quantum frames in a cosmic holographic movie.

Each recurrence of a space frame defines a Primary Interval of Time in the successive of the cosmic movie. The only action in each atomic space frame is light or electromagnetic radiation. EM radiation comes from atomic processes and thus can only transmit a certain distance in each space frame relative to each individual atom. Light is thus quantized into synchronous pulses consistent with the Planck universal quantum of action. That is why the speed of light is universal with respect to each atom.

Relative motions introduce relative space frame skipping in the integrated fabric of space and time which accounts for the Lorentz Transformations of Relativity Theory. Because the Void is timeless the space frames close ranks to present the illusion of continuous space and time. Atomic particles are both waves and particles at the same time.

In System 3 the Void is generated in the quantum frame by the Particular Terms 3 since the Routine and Form coalesce within the photon Idea interface. Routine and Form project inside each other thence timelessly out through the photon which constitutes a quantum energy equivalent of an atom. The electron and proton are coalesced as a photon quantum of energy. The simultaneous reconciliation of internal and external invests the quantum of energy with timeless or eternal characteristics that are nevertheless subject to synchronous recall.

Term 7 of System 4 has similar characteristics and constitutes a biologically structured element of the Void that is subject to recall as a memory that may be tailored to current circumstances in the synchronous projection of physical form. In unusual circumstances the Void is accessible in human experience. All form vanishes without trace, including the form of one's own body but without loss of identity. It is an awesome experience of union with all without specific content. Refer to Endnote 9 of the article Intuition and Logic in Human Evolution.

Summary of Term Transformations Step by Step

A review of the article System 4 Terms may be helpful. System 4 may be summarized in chart form as follows. Expressive and Regenerative particular terms, as well as universal terms, are shown for each sequential Step. Particular Regenerative Terms are shown in bold.

New sensory input from the environment comes via T4E in Set 3 in Step 1. Sensory input T4E in one Set of Step 1 of each Cycle is always coupled to memory recall T7R to begin a related simulation sequence. Memory recall must always be linked directly to sensory input in order for our thoughts, feelings, and actions to be relevant to ongoing circumstantial input.

This must be reconciled with the previous action sequence T8E (simultaneous motor instructions to muscles) in order for there to be a smooth transition from sequence to sequence. The chart will be a helpful reference in the sequence illustrations that follow. The regenerative Terms at the spinal level are accommodated by gamma motor neurons that project to muscle spindles. A gamma motor simulation in T1R is followed by a muscle spindle simulation in T4R that generates proprioceptive feedback about body position in space.

Term Transformations:

System 4 may be summarized in chart form as follows. Expressive and regenerative particular terms, as well as universal terms, are shown for each sequential Step. Regenerative Terms are shown in bold. The Primary and Secondary Universal Sets are shown in color.

Step	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Set U1	Set U2	Cycle
1	T8E	T7R	T4E	T9	T3	1
2	T5E	T1R	T2E	T9	T6
3	T7E	T4R	T8E	T8R	T6
4	T1E	T2R	T5R	T8R	T2E
5	T4E	T8E	T7R	T9	T3	2
6	T2E	T5E	T1R	T9	T6
7	T8E	T7E	T4R	T8R	T6
8	T5R	T1E	T2R	T8R	T2E
9	T7R	T4E	T8E	T9	T3	3
10	T1R	T2E	T5E	T9	T6
11	T4R	T8E	T7E	T8R	T6
12	T2R	T5R	T1E	T8R	T2E

Simulation in Neuromuscular Spindles

The Regenerative Mode requires the simulation of an anticipated act before it is actually enacted. The top simplified diagram below is redrawn from Cunningham's Textbook of Anatomy. It does not distinguish between nuclear bag and nuclear chain fibers, nor between different sources of motor innervation. The second simplified diagram does but does not show the sheath. These tiny bundles of a few short muscle fibers are enclosed in a sheath and connected to parent muscles throughout the body. They can be independently activated by gamma motor neurons that constitute about 30% of the motor neurons in the ventral horns of the spinal cord. They are thus situated throughout the body to simulate activity independently of the parent muscles of the body. In doing so they generate proprioceptive feedback about the body's anticipated changes in position in any given action sequence, before it is carried out. We sense this sensory feedback as when we feel an urge to dance to a musical rhythm.

Redrawn from Cunningham's Textbook of Anatomy

Redrawn from Ganong, W. F., Review of Medical Physiology

The muscle spindles monitor the relative state of parent muscle contraction and muscle tone as well as being structured to enact simulations independently of the parent muscles and generate propriocpetive sensory feedback about the simulated position of body muscles and thus the anticipated relative position of body parts in space.

The Sequence Illustrations

The above twelve Steps in the table are illustrated below one Step at a time, showing how the three Particular Sets and two Universal Sets interact in each synchronous Step.

Each Term is illustrated with a brief description of how it works in relation to the nervous system of a human being who has just suffered a scalding burn to the forearm. This involves more than a reflex jerk away from the burn. The person may be carrying a pot of scalding tea and stumbles into a running child causing the tea to spill on the forearm. The response do more than jerk the arm away from the scald which could spill more perhaps on the child. Rapid inhibition of an excessive movement is possible via the raphe nucleus which provides time for a rapid simulation of a better corrective movement. The whole body is involved as the person must also avoid falling from the collision. Simulations alternate with direct sensory input at lightening speed in a case like this. Proprioceptive sensory neurons are much larger than pain neurons and transmit rapidly from throughout the body.

It takes considerable concentration to follow and fully understand the sequence. Understanding each Term requires a lot of intuitive reflection that must be interpreted in context. Because there are so many things happening both synchronously and sequentially it takes a great deal of concentration as well as breadth of mental grasp. Once understood however, it can be applied to understand how the whole nervous system integrates experience meaningfully.

There are also sensory neurons for pressure and vibration and the other sensory systems such as vision, hearing, balance, taste and smell that all work in a self-similar way. This will be explored more in the article on the Cerebellum which plays a crucial role in integrating various sensory inputs with cerebral functions.

Conclusion

The above sequence illustrations demonstrate that the human nervous system at the spinal level integrates meaning synapse by synapse in precise accord with the System of delineating the Cosmic Order by which we have evolved. The associated Nervous System article Part 2 on the Cerebellum shows how other sensory inputs at the spinal and brain stem level are meaningfully integrated with conscious cerebral functions including the motor projection of consciously intended behavior patterns.

This detailed accord between the structural dynamics of System 4 and the nervous system can hardly be a coincidence. The strict structural correspondence is both sufficient and necessary to explain how the nervous system integrates experience synapse by synapse, irrespective of the immense diversity of human behavior. It embraces all possible varieties of phenomenal behavior.

The article focuses only on the evolutionary variant of the System as a learning experience. There is also an involutionary variant where Center 3 and 4 exchange places. Values become inverted. Things are done as ends in themselves rather than meaningfully relating to circumstance. This leads to fragmentation and decay. The evolutionary and involutionary variants are mutually exclusive such that their expressive and regenerative modes are at cross purposes. This allows the involutionary variant to feed on the evolutionary variant, while the evolutionary variant can redeem the energies of the involutionary variant. We experience this as a choice implicitly presented to us in most circumstances between mutually opposed value judgments. There is a bi-polar moral dilemma at the roots of perception.