Artificial Consciousness/Neural Correlates/Neural Network Models/Pruning Obsolete Connections
Pruning Obsolete Connections edit
Since the trend is for the Adult brain to have fewer connections than a childs brain, there is a need for the brain to somehow absorb some of the connections. This has been called Pruning in the Branch and Prune model. Although the experiments in this area have yet to be fully explored, Dr. Alkon, has suggested that certain neuro-chemicals result in the neuron "Focusing" and reabsorbing it's fibrils. This experiment was reported by a Japanese Scientist of his aquaintance, and whether it has been repeated or not, is unknown to me at this time.
What is important to recognize here is the utility to the nerve of being able to produce opportunistic connections and then reabsorb the ones that either don't connect productively, or become unused due to a shift of emphasis on which areas of the network are active. Quite simply its a matter of conservation of building materials. The more building materials can be reabsorbed the longer the cell can continue to produce new opportunistic connections.
What might be theorized is that if the neuron can reabsorb it's processes, and synapses when they are no longer needed, then it should do so, just before it creates a new generation of opportunistic connections in order to reduce the cost of construction. Thus we might find chemical traces that trigger such reabsorption as part of the earlier stages of the chemical cascade reactions that have been theorized result in the growth of either synapses or fibrils. These signals have to start early, in order to have time to reabsorb and digest the materials of the original processes and synapses before new ones are produced. Because of the relative sizes of the reabsorption project, synapses will not need as much lead time as fibrils for reabsorption.