From: mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539)
Newsgroups: tx.politics
Subject: Brainwaves & John Haugh II
Keywords: foetus brainwave Gray
Date: 9 Sep 92 13:52:19 GMT
Organization: Texas Instruments Inc

We've been having some newsfeed problems this week, so John's last
article about foetal brainwaves (you know -- the one where the man who
insists that he never corrects spelling or grammar corrected my
spelling of "Gray's") expired right after I read it.  However, I'd
like to give him a few things to try to explain, insofar as how an
incomplete brain is supposed to have readable human brainwaves (at 40
days gestation -- I really wish he'd repost that chart so I could save
it this time).

According to Gray's Anatomy, the median section of human foetal brain
DURING THE THIRD MONTH shows the brain divided into 5 ventricles; not
yet formed are the cerebrum, cerebellum and pons.  Perhaps John would
like to enlighten us as to how a foetal brain can show READABLE HUMAN
BRAINWAVES at 40 days (5-6 weeks) WHEN THE PARTS THAT MAKE A HUMAN
BEING DON'T EVEN EXIST YET.  When things are that clearcut, an anatomy
text is evidence enough.  All the higher parts of the brain don't even
exist yet, so how can human brainwaves?  I asked a pathologist about
this, and he categorized the idea that the primitive brain (at three
months) could sustain brainwave function as "hogwash".

But let's check a slightly different source.  Looking in "Obstetric
Nursing" (Addison-Wesley), we find that the neural tube doesn't even
close until after 4 weeks (28 days).  At 5 weeks (35 days) neural
differentiation takes place.  And yet, John would have us believe that
only FIVE DAYS AFTER NEURAL DIFFERENTIATION THERE ARE READABLE HUMAN
BRAINWAVES.   Now, given a choice between John's pro-life propaganda
sources and real sources, I think I'll believe the real sources.

Looking in the same source for when there really is a human brain
there, we find that it is not until the 18th week that all the basic
division of the brain are present  That says that the parts aren't
even all there until around 126 days into gestation, and yet John
Haugh would have us believe that readable human brainwaves exist IN
MUCH LESS THAN HALF THAT TIME.  And even at the 18th week, all the
parts of the brain aren't matured yet -- they are merely PRESENT to
some degree.  It is not until 24 weeks that the foetal brain resembles
a human brain.  It is not until this point that we start to see any real
brain function.  We start to see some basic reflex response in the
vicinity of 21-24 weeks, and there isn't really any autonomic nervous
function until 28 weeks.

In other words, the claims of John's sources that there are "readable
human brainwaves" occurring at around 40 days gestational age are
untrue.  That's why just citing sources isn't enough.  Ink will always
adhere to paper.  It is WHICH sources that are of importance.  As I
said, given a choice between pro-life propaganda sources and medical
sources, I'll take the latter.  John has apparently made a somewhat
different choice in the matter.  That's fine, but he shouldn't expect
anyone else to believe those sources, and he CERTAINLY shouldn't be
using them to attack anyone as a "liar" because they tell him those
sources are wrong.






-- 
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
 in the real world."   -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
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Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.