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Origin of Synapses: A Scientific Account or the Story of a Hypothesis

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Astrobiology

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Abstract

Synapses are the structural components developed by nature to allow neuronal communication and consequently they are the fundamental sites at which the integrative functions of the central nervous system, such as intelligence and others activities of integration of less importance, are carried through. In this contribution, from both phylogenetic and ontogenetic points of view, the origin of synapses was analyzed and commented in relation to the evolution of intelligence on Earth, herein interpreted as the capacity of matter to understand matter. This approach could also be useful for the comprehension of extraterrestrial intelligence.

Centro de Microscopía Electrónica, Universidad de Los Andes, P. O. Box 163, Mérida 5101-A, Venezuela.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electron Microscopy Center, University of Los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela

    Ernesto Palacios-PrÜ

  2. International Institute of Advanced Studies, Simón Bolivar University, Caracas, Venezuela

    Ernesto Palacios-PrÜ

Authors
  1. Ernesto Palacios-PrÜ
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Italy

    Julián Chela-Flores

  2. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados (IDEA), Venezuela

    Julián Chela-Flores

  3. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (CONICET), Argentina

    Guillermo A. Lemarchand

  4. Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Guillermo A. Lemarchand

  5. Department of Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-5934, USA

    John Oró

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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Palacios-PrÜ, E. (2000). Origin of Synapses: A Scientific Account or the Story of a Hypothesis. In: Chela-Flores, J., Lemarchand, G.A., Oró, J. (eds) Astrobiology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4313-4_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4313-4_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5865-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4313-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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