Merkabah

[Kgal]

I had several of these dreams as a child, it was usually my Mom with her back turned away from me, when I would call her name she would turn around and have no face at all, just blank.
Then all Hell would break loose in the dream/OOBE(?), there was a noise I always associated in my dreams/OOBEs with the entrance of something sinister, it was an electrical buzzing noise, very specific, like when you stand under the high-tension power lines and can hear them buzz…it was like that except with a boom or a whoosh and much louder (even to this day I hate standing next to those power lines because I can hear that noise).
I definitely knew I was asleep, but for years I was unable to wake myself up…the best I could do was run back to my bed and hope I woke up…which sometimes I would and sometimes I would think I was awake only to really get the shit scared out of me as reality crumbled around me.
I finally learned to will myself awake, at which point the night terrors and the vivid dreams of me wandering the house late at night ceased.
I very rarely have nightmares now…like maybe once a year something will shake me up for a second, but for the most part I rather enjoy a good nightmare now (that may sound weird but it’s the truth).
Then I have the vivid dreams where I feel OOB again, usually because something has entered my home and I go from dreaming about something innocuous to lucidly rising from my bed knowing I am asleep to “push” out the negative entity that seems to trigger this reaction subconsciously in me now.
I wonder if my childhood experiences necessitated this somehow?
And now this article brings up the possibility of alien contact…swell…that’s all I need.
I remember another very vivid reoccurring dream I had was trying to find the “secret door” that would lead to a very long spiral slide that would take me somewhere, and no matter how hard I try to remember I don’t know where it went, but I remember wanting to go there - very badly…I remember becoming lucid in my dreams and then trying to find the door, but when I was lucid, I could never find it.

.

I used to have similar dreams. Many many of them were of my climbing these gorgeous wooden spiralling stairs up and down this gigantic wooden home. I was always climbing climbing only to come to a dead end or a crossing point and no matter where I looked there were endless stairs. Another one I had many many times was trying drive my car in increasingly difficult terrain all made of red clay. I'd continue to drive upward and upward only to find a huge gully or washout or a sheer cliff and had to turn around and find another way.
I never ever managed to find what I was looking for.
It's coming to me now that deep down we knew we were looking for the way home- to the higher frequencies - and we were not allowed to go beyond the low dense frequency because Earth was held in a frequency quarantine till sometime around 2007. Come to think of it - I haven't had those dreams in 10 years.

As for having alien contact - this is where you get the chance to practice your Discernment ability and increase it to the place where you no longer have doubts. No galactic entity who has your best interest in mind will try to scare you. Actually no galactic entities who are malevolent will not be allowed to contact you. If you feel fear within you whenever you feel the presence of an entity who is at the higher frequencies take a moment to sit with it and feel "in to it" to discover what is there. This is the practice. That's all it is....just practice.

In the last month or so my guides have been continuously telling me no one will just arbitrarily show up without my explicit permission and intention. Sometimes I remember when B showed up in my bedroom and I wonder if it could happen with others and my stomach clenches....ya know? Whenever that thought comes up they instantly respond in reassurance and love.

My Discernment has continued to increase and my doubt decrease...and that's perfect for me.

You and all the enlightened ones here are over-lighted and protected as long as we remain open to the experience in an honest way.

 

[Skarekrow]

I used to have similar dreams. Many many of them were of my climbing these gorgeous wooden spiralling stairs up and down this gigantic wooden home. I was always climbing climbing only to come to a dead end or a crossing point and no matter where I looked there were endless stairs. Another one I had many many times was trying drive my car in increasingly difficult terrain all made of red clay. I'd continue to drive upward and upward only to find a huge gully or washout or a sheer cliff and had to turn around and find another way.
I never ever managed to find what I was looking for.
It's coming to me now that deep down we knew we were looking for the way home- to the higher frequencies - and we were not allowed to go beyond the low dense frequency because Earth was held in a frequency quarantine till sometime around 2007. Come to think of it - I haven't had those dreams in 10 years.

As for having alien contact - this is where you get the chance to practice your Discernment ability and increase it to the place where you no longer have doubts. No galactic entity who has your best interest in mind will try to scare you. Actually no galactic entities who are malevolent will not be allowed to contact you. If you feel fear within you whenever you feel the presence of an entity who is at the higher frequencies take a moment to sit with it and feel "in to it" to discover what is there. This is the practice. That's all it is....just practice.

In the last month or so my guides have been continuously telling me no one will just arbitrarily show up without my explicit permission and intention. Sometimes I remember when B showed up in my bedroom and I wonder if it could happen with others and my stomach clenches....ya know? Whenever that thought comes up they instantly respond in reassurance and love.

My Discernment has continued to increase and my doubt decrease...and that's perfect for me.

You and all the enlightened ones here are over-lighted and protected as long as we remain open to the experience in an honest way.​

I’m not really worried about negative entities even though I know some of them can be very powerful.
The things that tormented me as a child have not tormented me since I could will myself to wake.
I think something also shut down in my little brain at that time…subconsciously, it was trying to protect me….but I always knew they were there.

Your dreams sounds so similar to mine…I was looking for this door, and behind it was that long spiral slide….but just like your dream the slide in mine was wooden…like polished wood.
And I knew I had been to the bottom of that slide before, and I wanted so desperately to go back…and to me it seemed like I had just been there, and yet I couldn’t remember anything about what was at the bottom other than it was a joyful place, a safe place, it was something amazing.
Most of the time, the dream would start out where I was at the church we used to attend…and I would go wandering the hallways until I got to the stairs that lead to the nursery, but also the genealogy room and then even deeper was the baptismal font….anyhow, the door was down there somewhere, I used to know that it was a dream when I had it, but still couldn’t find it.
You might be right that it was me searching for a way home. (some random person called me a Starchild the other day btw…not sure about that one)
As for it being aliens, I have no event that leads me to think that it was them…though my dreams about such things are not as confined to reality and it’s rules as our waking life.

I have actually (hopefully) made my home difficult to get in and even difficult for a negative entity to see.
I smudge my home frequently and put out protective energies.
Those few who have wandered in, I have felt confident in fighting…and I think my guardian angels or higher self or both have assisted me both in pushing them away but in teaching me in my dreams to deal with them.​

 

[Kgal]

Your dreams sounds so similar to mine…I was looking for this door, and behind it was that long spiral slide….but just like your dream the slide in mine was wooden…like polished wood.
And I knew I had been to the bottom of that slide before, and I wanted so desperately to go back…and to me it seemed like I had just been there, and yet I couldn’t remember anything about what was at the bottom other than it was a joyful place, a safe place, it was something amazing.
Most of the time, the dream would start out where I was at the church we used to attend…and I would go wandering the hallways until I got to the stairs that lead to the nursery, but also the genealogy room and then even deeper was the baptismal font….anyhow, the door was down there somewhere, I used to know that it was a dream when I had it, but still couldn’t find it.
You might be right that it was me searching for a way home. (some random person called me a Starchild the other day btw…not sure about that one)
As for it being aliens, I have no event that leads me to think that it was them…though my dreams about such things are not as confined to reality and it’s rules as our waking life.

Ooooo....this gave me goosebumps. I too spent most of my childhood in an old catholic church with lots and lots of polished wood all through it. I loved climbing the stairs. Even to this day whenever I get the opportunity to go into one of those old catholic churches I start climbing and looking for all the doors. One time I had the opportunity to see the castle, Casa Loma, in Toronto. I ventured into all the secret doorways, rooms, and stairs. I felt completely at home in that place for it was full of wooden objects and covering brought in from all over the world.

I've been telling you you're a Star child. Hahahahahahaha.... I love it! :love:

 

[Skarekrow]

These are the final words that a wife wished her husband to post upon her passing.


Hello all,
I am posting this on behalf of the love of my life.
These are her words.
Much love to all.
- Jeff McManamy


So…I have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news is, apparently, I’m dead.

Good news, if you’re reading this, is that you are most definitely not (unless they have wifi in the afterlife).
Yes, this sucks.

It sucks beyond words, but I’m just so damn glad I lived a life so full of love, joy and amazing friends.
I am lucky to honestly say that I have zero regrets and I spent every ounce of energy I had living life to the fullest.

I love you all and thank you for this awesome life.
Whatever religion brings you comfort, I am happy that you have that.

However, respect that we are not religious.
Please, please, please do not tell Brianna that I am in heaven.

In her mind, that means that I chose to be somewhere else and left her.
In reality, I did everything I could to be here with her, as there is nowhere, NOWHERE, I would rather be than with her and Jeff.

Please don’t confuse her and let her think for one second that is not true.
Because, I am not in heaven.

I’m here.
But no longer in the crappy body that turned against me.

My energy, my love, my laughter, those incredible memories, it’s all here with you.
Please don’t think of me with pity or sadness.

Smile, knowing that we had a blast together and that time was AMAZING.
I fucking hate making people sad.

More than anything, I love making people laugh and smile, so please, rather than dwelling on the tragic Terms of Endearment end of my story, laugh at the memories we made and the fun we had.

Please tell Brianna stories, so she knows how much I love her and how proud of her I will always be (and make me sound waaay cooler than I am).
Because I love nothing more than being her mommy.

Nothing.
Every moment with her was a happiness I couldn’t even imagine until she came crashing into our world.

And don’t say I lost to cancer.
Because cancer may have taken almost everything from me, but it never took my love or my hope or my joy.

It wasn’t a “battle” it was just life, which is often brutally random and unfair, and that’s simply how it goes sometimes. I didn’t lose, dammit.
The way I lived for years with cancer is something I consider a pretty big victory.

Please remember that.

Most importantly, I was unbelievably lucky to spend over a decade with the love of my life and my best friend, Jeff.
True love and soulmates do exist.

Every day was full of hilarity and love with Jeff by my side.
He is genuinely the best husband in the universe.

Through all my cancer crap, he never wavered when so many people would want to run.
Even on the worst days you could imagine, we found a way to laugh together.

I love him more than life itself and I truly believe that a love like that is so special it will live forever.
Time is the most precious thing in this world and to have shared my life for so long with Jeff is something I am incredibly grateful for.

I love you, Jeff.

I believe that the awesomeness that is Brianna is our love brought to life, which is pretty beautiful.
It absolutely breaks my heart to have to say goodbye.

If it’s half as sad for you as it is for me, it breaks my heart over again because the last thing I ever want to do is make you sad.
I hope that with time, you can think of me and smile and laugh, because, holy shit did we have a breathtaking life.

Go google Physicist’s Eulogy and know that it is a scientific fact I will always be with you both in some way.
I know that if you just stop and look hard enough, I’ll be with there (in as non-creepy a way possible).

You’re my world and I loved every second we had together more than words.
Friends, I love you all and thank you for the most wonderfully awe-inspiring life.

And thank you to all of my amazing doctors and nurses who have taken such incredible care of me.
I don’t doubt that my team gave me every possible good day that they could.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish all my friends long, healthy lives and I hope you can experience the same appreciation for the gift of each day that I did.
If you go to my funeral, please run up a bar tab that would make me proud.

Heck, blast “Keg on My Coffin” and dance on the bar for me (because there had better be a dance party at some point).
Celebrate the beauty of life with a kickass party because you know that’s what I want and I believe that in a weird way, I will find a way to be there too (you know how much I hate missing out on fun).

I look forward to haunting each one of you, so this isn’t so much a goodbye as it is see you later Please do me a favor and take a few minutes each day to acknowledge the fragile adventure that is this crazy life.

Don’t ever forget: every day matters.

 

[Skarekrow]

Ooooo....this gave me goosebumps. I too spent most of my childhood in an old catholic church with lots and lots of polished wood all through it. I loved climbing the stairs. Even to this day whenever I get the opportunity to go into one of those old catholic churches I start climbing and looking for all the doors. One time I had the opportunity to see the castle, Casa Loma, in Toronto. I ventured into all the secret doorways, rooms, and stairs. I felt completely at home in that place for it was full of wooden objects and covering brought in from all over the world.

I've been telling you you're a Star child. Hahahahahahaha.... I love it! :love:

Yeah, the slide was very interesting…it was like a bunch of round railings that were close together and formed a slide…but they appeared to be wood.
Strange that I can remember the details of the thing but not what’s at the end?

Anyhow…I hope you are doing well Kgal.
I really meant it when I said I would help you in any way I can…don’t hesitate.

 

[Skarekrow]

Dalai Lama

Karma means action and action motivated by compassion is good.

To complain that what happens to you is just the result of your karma is lazy.

Instead, confidently recalling the advice that, "You are your own master," you can change what happens by taking action.
​

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

An apocalypse (Ancient Greek: ἀποκάλυψις apokálypsis, from ἀπό and καλύπτω meaning "uncovering"), translated literally from Greek, is a disclosure of knowledge, i.e., a lifting of the veil or revelation.
In religious contexts it is usually a disclosure of something hidden.

How that got twisted and manipulated into being synonymous with the destruction of the world or the end of the world is beyond me.
If there is ever an apocalypse (as many holy book predict) I don’t think people will understand what is actually going on because IMO there will be no fire and brimstone…death and destruction.
We will be going along with our lives one minute and the next we will have the realization of what this life actually is.
This happens to us already from time to time…at least I think it does…I think Deja Vu is a split second realization of the sham reality actually is.
I think we remember the actual reality of it all sometimes when we sleep…like when you fly in a dream ( at least when I do) you think - I remember this…I remember how to do this…how could I forget something that is such a core part of me?
That is how I think the apocalypse will be…the realization of it all…we will all of course have a personal apocalypse when we die…but if there should ever be some grand world-wide type unveiling of it all…I believe that it would be the opposite of death, destruction, fire & brimstone….it would be a moment of clarity on a scale never known before and all killing, death and destruction would immediately cease IMO
I don’t believe that Jesus is going to come down and trumpets will sound…but that Jesus didn’t mean his literal return per say (though perhaps he ((or some incarnation of him)) will), but that our minds will open to the heavens, we will see God and God inside of us, the world, the flowers, the stars, everything...
If these are the “end times” then I say bring it.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Kgal]

He sure knew what he was talking about didn't he?

 

[ThomasJ79]

[video=youtube;U6Tld59xyH4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Tld59xyH4[/video]

 

[Skarekrow]

[video=youtube;U6Tld59xyH4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Tld59xyH4[/video]

It’s sad how so very true that is.
Western religion including Islam and Judaism are not interested in changing our consciousness, they are interested in changing our behavior…whereas the eastern religions could be said work toward the opposite.
And this sort of mentality of changing our behavior not our consciousness has permeated itself through our modern society.

 

[Skarekrow]

So…been a bit down the past few days.
I’m not going to get into the why, the actual reason…but that I partially lead myself down this path.
The funny thing is, as sad as I am about it, I can’t say that part of me didn’t see this coming…or better rephrased - part of me knew this was going to happen.
That it has to happen…and I think it has been a source of my stress for a long, long time…and now that it has arrived, I am relieved mostly.
My mind plays out too many scenarios, sees too many possibilities sometimes…and they are not all bad scenarios, but if you want to remain realistic in the world we live in, you know they can’t all be good either.
Sensiko is very understanding, she is a saint.
This is a nice mixture of both…it was/is already as bad as I feared, but it is also showing me that there is a solution - not ideal, but it is what it is.
Anyhow…as ambiguous as this post is, I needed to say it.
Thanks.

 

[Skarekrow]

Ideas of Cerebral Radiations:
Edwin J. Houston​

Carlos S. Alvarado, PhD, Research Fellow, Parapsychology Foundation

One of the oldest theoretical ideas to account for ESP is that of cerebral radiations, or physical emanations coming from the brain of a person or other sources carrying information.

This is what many have speculated throughout the history of psychical research, emphasizing the existence of different emanations, radiations, waves, and various particles. Ideas of this sort have been postulated by William Crookes, Ferdinando Cazzamalli, Upton Sinclair, and René Warcollier, among many others.

I discuss some nineteenth-century forgotten ideas of this sort in a paper entitled: “Telepathic Emissions: Edwin J. Houston on ‘Cerebral Radiation.’ ” (Journal of Scientific Exploration,2015, 29, 467-490).

Here is the abstract:

“Interest in telepathy during the Nineteenth Century developed in the context of ideas of magnetic, nervous, and psychic forces said to project from the physical body to cause various phenomena, as seen in the literatures of mesmerism, Spiritualism, and psychical research.

An article about cerebral radiations authored by American electrical engineer Edwin J. Houston in 1892 is reprinted here and commented upon. Houston speculated that cerebral waves were projected to other brains via the ether, a process involving resonance with a similarly disposed brain.

These ideas were affected by concepts from physics dealing with such forces as magnetism and constructs like the ether.
In fact, the phenomena of thought-transference stimulated many speculations involving ideas of brain waves and radiations that were part of a tendency to reduce unexplained phenomena to physical and physiological principles, or in this case biophysical ones.

Houston’s paper is one of the most detailed presentation of ideas of this sort published in the Nineteenth Century.
Nonetheless, Houston showed no familiarity with the literature of his time about telepathy.

While his article did not originate ideas of this sort, it is representative of speculations of the period about what today we refer to as physical transmission models of ESP.”

Edwin J. Houston

​

The reprint of Houston’s article, which was published in various journals, was preceded by an introduction about ideas of animal magnetism and thought-transference in the nineteenth-century assuming physical principles.

As Mark Twain wrote in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine: “Doubtless the something which conveys our thoughts through the air from brain to brain is a finer and subtler form of electricity . . .” (Mental telegraphy: A manuscript with a history. Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, 1891, 84, 95—104, p. 101).

Mark Twain

​

The paper was published in the Journal of the Franklin Institute and in other places.
Houston believed that:
“Postulating the existence of the universal or luminiferous ether . . . , and bearing in mind the fact that this ether passes through even the densest matter . . . , it follows that the brain atoms or molecules that are here assumed as the cause of cerebration, are completely surrounded by the ether . . .

Now, since the ether is a highly elastic, easily movable medium, it would follow that thought or cerebration, if attended by vibrations, must necessarily develop in the ether wave-motions, which have the brain atoms or molecules for their centres . . .

Cerebral energy . . . is dissipated by imparting wave motions to the surrounding ether, and such waves are sent out in all directions from the brain, possibly in greater amount, or of greater amplitude from some of the brain openings, as, for example, those of the eyes.”

First page of Houston’s article, Journal of the Franklin Institute

​

As I concluded:

“Simple transmission models based on radiations and waves such as Houston’s have been criticized in the past as failing to explain the evidence for ESP . . . Nonetheless, historically it is important to pay attention to ideas such as Houston’s because the study of past developments in parapsychology, and of any other scientific field, should not be limited to what is believed today to be correct . . .”

“While I do not claim that Houston’s article had an important impact on the study of ESP (the reverse seems to be the case), a discussion of its content contributes to our understanding of the assumptions surrounding past ideas on the subject.

In this case it is clear that Houston was influenced by the then current concepts of physics (or by extensions of these concepts), which included constructs such as brain-generated radiations and the ether. The influence of physics on parapsychology, it is interesting to see, continues to recent times . . .”

“To conclude, Houston’s article allows us to see in detail a type of theory that has been prevalent throughout the history of interest in telepathy. In fact his paper is probably the most detailed discussion of the topic in the later Nineteenth Century. Houston’s ideas were part of a long conceptual tradition that has been influential both in parapsychological concepts, as well as in popular conceptions of teles on the subject.

In this case it is clear that Houston was influenced by the then current concepts of physics (or by extensions of these concepts), which included constructs such as brain-generated radiations and the ether.
The influence of physics on parapsychology, it is interesting to see, continues to recent times . . .”

“To conclude, Houston’s article allows us to see in detail a type of theory that has been prevalent throughout the history of interest in telepathy. In fact his paper is probably the most detailed discussion of the topic in the later Nineteenth Century. Houston’s ideas were part of a long conceptual tradition that has been influential both in parapsychological concepts, as well as in popular conceptions of telepathy.[/FONT”

 

[Skarekrow]

Since I apparently have been falling behind on UFO and UFO phenomena, here you go!
This is a bizarre one!

@Kgal
Did you see this one??!!!

Portal from other dimension?
Now bizarre 'city scape' appears in skies over mountains

FIRST thousands of residents feared a portal to another dimension had given them a glimpse
of an alien city in the skies over China.

The apparition (ringed) with it close up (bottom right) and the Chinese "sky city"
​

Then a similar apparition in the sky appeared above Hastings, on the south coast of England.
Now a remote part of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the US has seen a mystery "sky city" or even "alien forest" forming" before suddenly vanishing.

The strange picture was snapped in the early morning by a photographer who said they were reduced to tears after seeing the mysterious huge glowing orb.

It featured jagged shapes that some claim resemble several spired buildings or even trees in a forest.
The snapper said: "I went outside first thing this morning.

"After sitting outside for a few minutes, I looked West at the fog covering the hillside. Then, there was a bright, almost blinding light that made my eyes tear up - I mean tears rolling down my face.

The "floating city" in China which caused such a stir
​

[video=youtube;1KVsrDHUo-I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1KVsrDHUo-I[/video]
​

"It appeared to be in front of the heavy fog. It appeared to be above the hill and slightly in front of the hill.
"After snapping a few pictures, it appeared to dim. It had a translucence to it. I looked down at my camera to make sure I had gotten the shot, looked up, and it was gone."

The photographer said the image captured portrayed exactly the strange sighting that lasted so briefly.
They said: "The top of the object is completely dome shaped. The bottom is jagged as if there were trees.

"In the pictures, the Sun is clearly visible to the left of the object. The light that the object emitted looked to be the same or similar to the sun, but it could not have been a reflection because the sun was behind and to the left of the object. It also does not and did not, appear to be a break in the fog.

The apparition in close up
​

"It was clearly in front of the heavy fog. I've lived high up in the Rocky Mountains for quite some time now, and I have seen my fair share of weird "light tricks" caused by ice particles in the atmosphere - I've never seen anything quite like this. If there is a scientific explanation for this, I would love to hear it."

One viewer of the images posted on various online sites: "What is it with these wormhole portals opening up everywhere. I can see the shapes of gothic buildings in this one."

But others had much more down to Earth explanations.
Another posted: "Have to disagree it's just a light in the mountains you can see clearly (they) are tree tops.

"It was even in the morning so is possible one of them is the sun coming up and other one is the moon?"
Apart from being a portal to another dimension complete with alien forest, the snapper even speculated it could have been a bizarre UFO sighting.

The photographer was reduced to tears
​

Some UFO investigators claim alien crafts are able to hide themselves in the scenery around them or within clouds, known by them as "cloaking".

They added: "The author in me wants to think it was a glitch in a cloaking device."
Scott C waring, editor of UFO Sightings Daily, seemed convinced by the tongue-in-cheek suggestion.

He said: "What we are seeing here is a very large UFO rising out of the ground (underground base door opens up).
"The UFO tries to leave while its misty in the area so it wont be seen.

"Sunrise and sunset can cause a cloaked ship to become visible for 10 seconds to 10 minutes depending on the angle and position of the spectators, craft and sun.

"Colorado is a hotbed for glowing white orbs activity, and this is the mother of all orbs."

 

[Skarekrow]

Fantastic piece

The Nets Around the Neurons

In a mass of tissue as densely packed and hard-working as the brain,
even the holes among the structural elements have jobs to do.

Sandra J. Ackerman


​

We’re accustomed to thinking of the brain as an organ that not only generates our mental constructs but retains them as well.
“Hold that thought,” we’ll say.

Of someone who never seems to forget anything, we might exclaim, “He has a mind like a steel trap!”
How the brain creates a memory, stores it among numerous strengthened synapses that constitute a particular signaling pathway, and is then able to retrieve that memory after a lapse of days or decades, is something that neuroscientists are just beginning to understand.

We don’t consider it remarkable that a nonagenarian, for example, can recall with perfect clarity how he played stickball in the city streets 80 years ago or that a retired professor can tell you the name of her second-grade teacher; yet these feats of memory are difficult to explain.

​

Of course the neurons, with their signal-transmitting synapses, play a leading role in the explanation, as do the axons (the extended branches of a neuron that emit the signals) and the dendrites (the spiny protuberances of neurons that receive them).

This much has been known for some time.
Lately, however, some non-neural elements of the brain have been receiving their share of attention, such as the variety of proteins and sugars that make up the extracellular matrix.

As is so often the case in living systems, the more closely each element is examined, the more complexity it reveals.
In recent studies and in presentations at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, several research teams have laid out evidence that the brain’s extracellular matrix–far from being an inert substance that serves only to hold the busy neurons in place, as was previously thought–acts dynamically to take part in several major brain functions, from development to maintaining the stability of synaptic connections.

Even within the obscure world of the extracellular matrix, one of the least well known elements has been the perineuronal net, a structure that seems almost to have a penchant for being overlooked.

As far back as 1898 Camillo Golgi himself, inventor of the silver staining method that first made whole neurons visible under microscopy, described “a delicate covering, mainly reticular in structure, but also in the form of tiny tiled scales … which surrounds the cell body of all nerve cells.”

This observation was eclipsed, however, by his much more famous characterization of the component of living cells now known as the Golgi apparatus.

One hundred years later Marco Celio and his colleagues, writing in the journal Trends in Neuroscience, could still proclaim, “In no other branch of neuroscience has the waxing and waning of interest in any morphological entity been so pronounced as in the case of the perineuronal net.”

But the time may now have come for sustained interest in this morphological entity.
At the Society for Neuroscience meeting, researchers from the University of California — San Diego presented an exciting prospect: Their work suggests that not the perineuronal net but the holes in the net may help sustain very long term memories.

Sakina Palida, a graduate student in the lab of Nobel laureate Roger Tsien, explained how she and her colleagues had tackled what seemed to be a paradox: If, as is now known, most proteins in neuronal synapses undergo rapid turnover (within hours or days), how do the synapses themselves preserve memories over the course of a human lifetime?

Reasoning that the basis for stability must lie outside the synapses but in close proximity to them, the researchers turned their attention to the perineuronal net.

Working with cultured neurons and whole brain slices, they found evidence of this net enveloping mature neurons, where it restricted the formation of new synapses.

Crucially, although the perineuronal net generally shows very little turnover, the research team found that it did erode under one condition: If an already-existing synapse became stronger as a result of exposure to a brain-stimulating chemical compound, the perineuronal net formed a hole at the site of the growing synapse.

​

To test whether the pattern seen in the lab held true in live neurons, the Tsien team developed a technique for fluorescently labeling certain protein components of the perineuronal net in transgenic mice.

When they saw the net undergo structural change, developing new holes in accord with the animals’ activity, the researchers knew they were on the right track.

Further studies are eagerly anticipated to establish exactly which protein(s) are responsible for the durability of the perineuronal net and which ones account for its responsiveness to strengthening synapses.

Because the perineuronal net is so highly attuned to the state of nearby synapses, it's not surprising that this structural element also fills an important function in the developing brain.

A recent paper by Janet Werker and Takao Hensch, of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, reviews the notion of so-called critical periods in development, when certain pathways in the brain have a heightened capacity to be shaped by experience; toward the end of this period, the perineuronal net acts as a “physical brake” to further synaptic growth.

Conversely, the removal of perineuronal nets by injury or illness can re-open a window of opportunity for the growth of new synapses, to some extent enabling the nervous system to repair itself.

In the intimate and changeable relationship between the neurons and the multifunctional mesh that surrounds them, much remains to be explored.

The next waning of interest in the perineuronal net may be a long time off.

–Sandra J. Ackerman

 

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[MENTION=4459]Sensiko[/MENTION]​

 

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