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While most of our discussion revolved around outputs and inputs and neural circuits, the very light neural anatomy that we did go into inspired me to look into basic neuron anatomy even more.  I found this neuron anatomy website  which I thought was particularly good at presenting neuron structure and basic function. What is amazing to me is not this notion of a generation of outputs with any input, but the fact that the cells in our body have the ability to do exactly that.  We see how outputs are generated without any inputs in every day life whether it be through dreams, desires, wants, creative thoughts, or through experiences or encounters with epilepsy or autism.
 

But what it comes down to is the basic anatomy or our brains and nervous systems. The overall structure and function of the neuron is basically the same across the human race.  Impulses, inputs, and outputs are the result of electrochemical gradients, sodium and calcium channels, and much more. Although scientists study neurons and how they function at the biochemical level, we still have been unable to build a neuron artificially.  We attempt to build robots and computer systems that function parallel to our own brain, but none have come close. None of these systems have had a mind of their own – they can’t produce outputs without any inputs.  And the way I see it, it is all because they don’t have the same building blocks that comprise our brains and nervous systems. It just gets me how we take these things called neurons for granted at times. Sometimes we just don’t realize how these neurons. so intricately architectured that we can’t even fully conceive how they work and function, allow us to do so much.