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Class this week did clarify for me the idea that outputs can be generated without inputs, but only if one considers inputs as belonging to an environment outside the nervous system. I find it hard to believe that outputs can be generated without any sort of stimulation and think that there must be an internal stimulus involved in the creation of outputs. Where do these outputs come from and how can they generate so many different inputs and outputs? What are the signals that pass through the neurons and what generates them (Inputs? Outputs?)? What causes neurons in the brain to stop transmitting signals?

I’ve been thinking about individuals whose brains have been severely damaged in accidents and are considered brain dead. Individuals who are declared brain dead do not show evidence of response to pain, reflexes, or spontaneous respirations.  An EEG will be flat and brain electrical activity is undetectable. Does brain damage prevent these “signals”, whatever they are, from being generated? Or does it prevent these signals from being transmitted? Perhaps some combination of the two? I think it will be interesting to learn about how the interactions between neurons lead to the transmissions of signals, how these signals lead to outputs, or behavior, and what exactly causes this whole process to start up or stop completely.