Entropy and the Brain

So here’s an article about the entropy in the brain and how it increases with age. This fits my model of aging, “brainbeats”, and personal time perception. There are mixed studies on whether more or less entropy in the brain is better. But we already know the answer to that.

• Less entropy the better.
• Caffeine creates brain entropy. And so do a bunch of other things. 
• Stress is entropy.
• Entropy alters personal relativity. May want to check out this article on that. 

Entropy always increases in a closed system, but we are not closed systems. It’s the second law of thermodynamics.

So, let’s assume the brain is a cylinder filled with gas. It should adhere to the following equation: PV=nRT, where P is pressure, V is volume, and T is temperature. n and R are constants the won’t apply since this calculation is more a correlation. We haven’t figured out those constants for the brain yet. 

As the temperature rises, the entropy rises. And either pressure or volume rises. So, in the closed system of your body, entropy always increases. But, if we allow your brain to expand, we can decrease the pressure and temperature.

So our brains shrink over time. And if they shrink, the pressure of our ideal gas, and temperature will rise accordingly. Entropy rises. But we know that all of this is just further from our ground state, where we sleep, recover, and learn best. Our perceptions of time will shorten, and hasten our aging process.

What is associated with elevated brain pressure?

One of the most damaging aspects of brain trauma and other conditions, directly correlated with poor outcome, is an elevated intracranial pressure. ICP is very likely to cause severe harm if it rises too high. Very high intracranial pressures are usually fatal if prolonged, but children can tolerate higher pressures for longer periods. An increase in pressure, most commonly due to head injury leading to intracranial hematoma or cerebral edema, can crush brain tissue, shift brain structures, contribute to hydrocephalus, cause brain herniation, and restrict blood supply to the brain. It is a cause of reflex bradycardia. [Source]

Can our brains grow? Yes. That should not surprise you. As the volume increases, brain pressure in the model would go down. But later in life, they start shrinking, and so do we. They grow until you start trying to lose weight. They go until you start aging. They grow until you throw in the towel. Here’s a chart of brain weight over time. See for yourself. The decrease in brain weight corresponds with aging.

What, if anything are the takeaways here? The brain follows the second law of thermodynamics. Entropy causes aging. I’m adding this to my brain model. What’s next? Apply this model to the Bends and altitude sickness. 

Sources

1. https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/dev.html
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21008-6
3. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep02853
4. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128311-800-a-brief-history-of-the-brain/amp/
5. http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/03/study-4-factors-that-may-shrink-your-brain/