Dendrites are the traffic lights of our nervous system. If an action potential is significant enough, it can be passed on to other nerves, which can block or pass on the message.
This is the logical underpinnings of our brain – ripples of voltage that can be communicated collectively in two forms: either an AND message (if x and y are triggered, the message is passed on); or an OR message (if x or y is triggered, the message is passed on).
In addition to the logical AND and OR-type functions, these individual neurons could act as 'exclusive' OR (XOR) intersections, which only permit a signal when another signal is graded in a particular fashion.
"Traditionally, the XOR operation has been thought to require a network solution," the researchers wrote.
Exactly how this new logic tool squeezed into a single nerve cell translates into higher functions is a question for future researchers to answer.
Now I don't know what all this means exactly, but it sounds important. 👍
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