THIS IS MY BOOK: «Connectome» by Sebastian Seung

Nadezhda Kryzhanovska / Photo from personal archive

I am a whimsical mosaic of genes. I am a symbiosis and a confrontation of the microbiome.

I am methyl and acetyl marks that switch genetic programs on and off.

I am a tangle of what I was given as an instruction for the body and what I constantly modify within myself. Self-tuning.

I am a connectome.

illions of spider-web neural connections forming my brain from the very first cells of the neural plate — the 17th day from the moment of conception! Genetic memory, my mother’s emotions, sounds and vibrations — all of this shapes the brain by the time of birth. Even without visual load. And further, neural connections make me who I am here and now, forming neuroplasticity. I have an XX combination, which means I am more multitasking, but less focused; my brain volume is smaller — yet research has shown that not much actually depends on this volume.

There are several factors that together form our personality. The genome, events, and the environment in which we exist — from nutrition to the timbre of the voices that surround us. Children whose mothers experienced violence during pregnancy are born with a more vulnerable genome and fewer chances of easily achieving their goals. Dancing makes children smarter. The literal genome is millions of times poorer than the connectomic network of connections. What do we inherit from our ancestors, and what do we form ourselves? We have different levels of intelligence and learning ability in childhood — but this cannot serve as a predictor of who we will become in adulthood. A tangled web of events and impressions intervenes, shaping us into who we are.

For me, the quintessence of what neurobiologist Seung says in Connectome is the phenomenon of Mikhail Lomonosov — the constant growth of neural connections and a sincere belief in the power of intellect. And also a natural spirit of adventure. Apparently, he was also a carrier of COMT G|G Warrior — to come from the peasants of the Arkhangelsk region to Moscow in search of knowledge and destiny, and then to escape from Prussian captivity. And if you read Sebastian Seung, be sure to sign up for dance classes. First, it is beautiful. Second, it creates new neural connections. Your connectome.

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