>>13806104Energy is the capacity to do work. Nothing more.
In the case of the brain, the signal that travels is a potential difference. Esentially, how much +/- charged shit is on the inside of the cell and how much on the outside. This is not "energy", these are ions. K+, Na+ and Cl-. There are channels and transporters which open and close depending on what kind of charge is predominant on which sied, and so the sginal is quickly passed on.
And this is only what happenes along every neuron. Between neurons the signal is blocked or conveyed via neurotransmitters. These too are tangible molecules.
We don't know exactly how the sensation of experience comes from these stuctures, but we know influencing these structures changes experience, and we know how to tun them off and influence them.
There is a fun little experiment, done on a rat, where the part of the brain responsible for the sensation of hunger is genetically modifyed to express a protein which would activate the area of the brain, but only if the molecule is in the correct configuration. The molecule reaches the correct configuration only when hit by light. The rats scull is opened up, and a tiny microscope and a light source are grafted to it.
When the light is turned on, the rat eats. When it is turned off, the rat stops eating.
I'll try to find the article if any of you are interested.
