- The material, containing a cocktail of synthetic and natural chemicals, spurs on the growth of neural stem cells which in turn repair damaged nerves.
- After promising studies on rats scientists in the US say the treatment could be ready for patient trials in as little as three years.
Could this be used to grow brains in jars, as well? Dare I say it, bonzai brains?
On a more serious note, could this be used to grow the brain further? They say meditation increases the size of the left prefrontal cortex. Could I inject this gel into that area of my brain, to speed the meditative process along?
I guess the key would be if neural stem cells work the same for growing new brain cells as they do for repairing damaged ones. Not that it would replace the learning process, as you still need to train those cells to actually do something, but it could accelerate the learning process if that process is in any way dependent upon the growth speed of the new neurons…
Ha, bonzai!! I am always weary of the natural inclination towards using material methods as a tool to speed up spiritual pursuits, but if someone else tried it first and were instantly able to levitate I might give it a whirl. To me this process begs a fundamental question, is the brain the same thing as the mind? As it is the mind which is ‘expanding’ through the process of meditation.
Well, meditation has been shown to enlarge certain parts of the brain, as well as increasing brain activity in certain areas. I’m not one to think that material methods can directly cause spiritual growth either (although on the other hand, the body itself might be considered just such a material method..!), but body + mind are interdependently arising phenomena, so my thought is that perhaps a way of speeding up one aspect of the process might help stabilize or even slightly speed up the growth other, if only for as much as the growth of the spiritual side is dependent upon the growth of the physical side, if at all.
Solid and well put. Agreed.
