In science, the brain is the part of the central nervous system contained within the cranium. [1]
Thermodynamics
The brain is often considered as the control system of the human body. In this regard, a few attempts have been made to define this “control system” from a thermodynamic systems point of view, i.e. the energetic perspective of systems. The first to outline a thermodynamic theory of brain operation was Canadian materials science engineer Jack Kirkaldy, who in his 1965 Biophysical Journal article “Thermodynamics and the Human Brain”, argued that the “human brain may be regarded as an irreversible system which is constrained by a fixed inflow of free energy in the form of chemical nourishment from within the body and information from the environment.” [2] In the 1970s, a number of attempts were made to explain the emergence of dynamic neural patterns in the brain during the operation of neural networks within the Prigogine theory of dissipative structures. [3]
References
1. Brain (definition) – Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 26th ed., 1995.
2. (a) Kirkaldy, J.S. (1965). "Thermodynamics of the Human Brain" (PDF), Biophys J. Nov. 5(6): 981-986.
(b) Thims, Libb. (2007). Human Chemistry (Volume One), (pgs. 105-107), (preview), (Google books). Morrisville, NC: LuLu.
3. (a) Fehér, Márta, Kiss, Olga and Laszlo, Ropoli. (1999). Hermeneutics and Science, (pg. 184). Springer.
(b) Irsigler, F.J. (1994). “Prigogine Thermodynamics and the Human Brain”, Mankind Quarterly, XXXIV: 3, Spring, pgs. 155-74.
Videos
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