2.3 An orchestral score of bio-oscillations.
Internal communication in living organisms is operated by oscillations of biochemical systems. These oscillations differ in several aspects from the electromagnetic waves that are so familiar to us as radio-waves for the transmission of voice, images and data. I'm thinking of the longer waves of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum: the carrier waves of Radio, TV and Telecom. A network of transmitters spans the world and, wherever you are, the space around you is packed with electromagnetic vibrations, hundreds in every frequency-band. Radio waves, from very low to very high frequencies, microwaves, radar and infrared waves, they are natural phenomena, domesticated for use in telecommunication, industry and household appliances. There are the waves of visible and ultraviolet light, some of these waves are frequency-modulated for special purposes. Perhaps we'll know sometime whether gravitational waves are modulated and if so, with what effect on life on Earth. From the cacophony of electromagnetic messages you can select a single one at any time. Given the appropriate equipment, one particular message can be singled out from the multitude and heard without being disturbed by the other messages. It is a matter of selecting and amplifying the right frequency of oscillation.
The network of biologic oscillations cannot be taken apart so easily. It employs an equally large range of frequencies for the purpose of communication. However the oscillations are of an entirely different nature than that of electromagnetic waves. In the first place: they are not generated as a succession of photons by vibrating electrons, but as periodic changes in the concentration of ions, molecules and cells in living systems. In the second place electromagnetic vibrations, being of linear nature, do not couple, and therefore do not form networks. The non-linear oscillators in biological systems on the contrary are coupled, strongly or loosely, to each other. By this linking they form networks, and changes in the network, local, regional or long distance, are the essence of bio-communication. The concept of "field" applies to both electromagnetic (EM) and bio-oscillations. The changes in magnetic force etc. extend in an EM field, the changes connected with bio-oscillations are propagated as waves in a material substance at a slower speed. EM vibrations can be recorded in linear form or as a string of digits. This is not possible with bio-oscillations, since they are not of electromagnetic origin, although occasionally an electrical derivative may appear, as in an encephalogram or cardiogram. Apart from monitoring such functions as blood-pressure or cardiac activity, we have not yet the means to accurately observe the periodic changes in density of the myriads of enzymes, neurotransmitters and related populations of significant molecules that are connected in networks. We have to be content with observing the overall effects over long periods of time. Bio-oscillations find their spatial expression in form, function and behaviour of living beings. They represent cognition and can be stored in a memory as in sperm, eggs and spores, from which they are regenerated later.
Just as electromagnetic energy waves are everywhere in space, bio-oscillations are found in all stages and forms of evolving life. The transmission of chemical information in a slime mould slug can be seen as the precursor of cycles of cortical excitation in vertebrates. Some of the main agents or players on the physiological stage have remained the same from the beginning of evolution to its present phase. A cyclical compound called c-AMP is one of them, and will be presented as an example of a metabolite with many functions.
Bio-oscillatory activity is the motor not only of evolution, but also of progressive differentiation in development and of the learning processes in the vertebrate's brain. The fundamental similarity of slowly evolving processes such as embryogenesis and rapidly developing ones such as thought processes can be understood when looked at through the appropriate time windows. In Chapter 3 we will discuss slow developmental processes.