Microtubules not involved with memory... BUT...

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Quote:Abstract
Information processing in microtubules is an open question that has not been properly
addressed yet. It was suggested that microtubules could store and process information in
the nervous system or even support consciousness. The unicellular organism, Paramecium
caudatum, that has a microtubular structure but does not have a neuron or neural network,
shows intelligent behaviors such as associative learning. This may suggest that the
microtubules are involved in intelligent behavior, information storage or information
processing in paramecium. To test this hypothesis, we have utilized a paramecium learning
task in which the organism associates brightness in its swimming medium with attractive
cathodal shocks to study the role of microtubules in paramecium learning. We used an
antimicrotubular agent (parbendazole) and disrupted microtubular dynamics in
paramecium to see if microtubules are an integral part of information storage and processing
in paramecium’s learning process. We observed that a partial allosteric modulator of GABA
(midazolam) could disrupt the learning process in paramecium, but the antimicrotubular
agent could not. Therefore, our results suggest that microtubules are probably not vital for
the learning behavior in P. caudatum. Consequently, our results call for a further revisitation
of the microtubular information processing hypothesis.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/...2.full.pdf

My own feeling is that there are a great many assumptions made in this paper, about: what affects what and how... which still need to be dealt with. However, the most glaring issue is that Gunter Albrecht Behuler's work on Cell Intelligence implicated the Cell Centriole as both a sensor and processor. The authors of this paper point out that the MT polymerization inhibitor they used (Parbendazole) does not affect Centrioles.

Why the researchers assume memory/processing is within a cells dynamic microtubules is weird, considering we know that Albrecht Behuler's comprehensive research clearly pointed at the cell Centriole. Sadly Albrecht Behuler's web site on Cell Intelligence at North Western EDU (I think), has been removed.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring 
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
(This post was last modified: 2025-08-14, 06:06 AM by Max_B. Edited 2 times in total.)
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