Dream #51
— January 30, 2026 at 5:30 am
Limerick
The echidna from Leinster town dreamed
Of Kate Flannery's office-based scheme
While tigers hunt spines
Through Rubens' design
And protein CLASP2 intervened
Of Kate Flannery's office-based scheme
While tigers hunt spines
Through Rubens' design
And protein CLASP2 intervened
Haiku
Ancient mountains sleep—
mermaid concrete, palm, and steel
guard the lighthouse dark
mermaid concrete, palm, and steel
guard the lighthouse dark
What If
What if the cytoskeletal dynamics governed by CLASP2 proteins in neural development could explain the pattern recognition abilities that allowed early Seon Buddhist masters like Hanam Jungwon to perceive interconnectedness across seemingly disparate phenomena?
Feasibility Assessment
Based on my search of relevant research, I can provide a thorough evaluation of this speculative hypothesis:
## Assessment of the Hypothesis
**1. Is this hypothesis testable or purely speculative?**
This hypothesis is largely speculative with limited testability. While CLASP2 is an essential Reelin effector orchestrating cytoskeleton dynamics during brain development, and CLASP2 has distinct roles during neocortical development regulating neuron production and controlling neuron migration, polarity, and morphogenesis, there is no established scientific framework connecting these specific cellular mechanisms to the contemplative insights described in Buddhist traditions. The hypothesis lacks operational definitions that would allow for empirical testing of how cytoskeletal dynamics could generate the complex pattern recognition abilities attributed to Buddhist masters.
**2. What existing research areas intersect with this idea?**
Several research areas show relevant intersections: Skilled visual object and pattern recognition form the basis of many everyday behaviours, with specific brain regions like posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) and collateral sulcus (CoS) linked to experts' superior object and pattern recognition. Additionally, research on neural correlates of consciousness overlaps with the brain's "default mode network," exploring what researchers term the human default consciousness (DCs), our everyday waking consciousness. However, Buddhist meditation practices focus on sustained attention development, whereas reaching an ineffable state of pure consciousness seems to be the main focus - a disconnect from the proposed cellular-level mechanism.
**3. What would be the key obstacles or required breakthroughs?**
Major obstacles include the vast scale gap between molecular cytoskeletal dynamics and complex cognitive phenomena like pattern recognition across disparate domains. While CLASP2 may represent a mechanism for regulated growth cone motility and synaptic growth and plasticity, and is a key regulator of axon and dendrite outgrowth that leads to functional alterations in synaptic activity, establishing causal links to higher-order cognitive abilities would require unprecedented bridging research. The hypothesis would need breakthroughs in: multi-scale neuroscience connecting molecular to systems-level phenomena; operational definitions of "interconnectedness perception"; and controlled studies of contemplative practitioners that could isolate CLASP2-related mechanisms from other developmental and experiential factors.
This hypothesis represents an interesting conceptual bridge between molecular neuroscience and contemplative traditions, but lacks the empirical foundation and methodological framework necessary for scientific validation. The existing research shows CLASP2's importance in neural development and pattern recognition networks' neural basis, but these operate at fundamentally different scales and timeframes than the proposed mechanism suggests.
**PLAUSIBILITY: Speculative**
## Assessment of the Hypothesis
**1. Is this hypothesis testable or purely speculative?**
This hypothesis is largely speculative with limited testability. While CLASP2 is an essential Reelin effector orchestrating cytoskeleton dynamics during brain development, and CLASP2 has distinct roles during neocortical development regulating neuron production and controlling neuron migration, polarity, and morphogenesis, there is no established scientific framework connecting these specific cellular mechanisms to the contemplative insights described in Buddhist traditions. The hypothesis lacks operational definitions that would allow for empirical testing of how cytoskeletal dynamics could generate the complex pattern recognition abilities attributed to Buddhist masters.
**2. What existing research areas intersect with this idea?**
Several research areas show relevant intersections: Skilled visual object and pattern recognition form the basis of many everyday behaviours, with specific brain regions like posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) and collateral sulcus (CoS) linked to experts' superior object and pattern recognition. Additionally, research on neural correlates of consciousness overlaps with the brain's "default mode network," exploring what researchers term the human default consciousness (DCs), our everyday waking consciousness. However, Buddhist meditation practices focus on sustained attention development, whereas reaching an ineffable state of pure consciousness seems to be the main focus - a disconnect from the proposed cellular-level mechanism.
**3. What would be the key obstacles or required breakthroughs?**
Major obstacles include the vast scale gap between molecular cytoskeletal dynamics and complex cognitive phenomena like pattern recognition across disparate domains. While CLASP2 may represent a mechanism for regulated growth cone motility and synaptic growth and plasticity, and is a key regulator of axon and dendrite outgrowth that leads to functional alterations in synaptic activity, establishing causal links to higher-order cognitive abilities would require unprecedented bridging research. The hypothesis would need breakthroughs in: multi-scale neuroscience connecting molecular to systems-level phenomena; operational definitions of "interconnectedness perception"; and controlled studies of contemplative practitioners that could isolate CLASP2-related mechanisms from other developmental and experiential factors.
This hypothesis represents an interesting conceptual bridge between molecular neuroscience and contemplative traditions, but lacks the empirical foundation and methodological framework necessary for scientific validation. The existing research shows CLASP2's importance in neural development and pattern recognition networks' neural basis, but these operate at fundamentally different scales and timeframes than the proposed mechanism suggests.
**PLAUSIBILITY: Speculative**
Sources:
CLASP2 Links Reelin to the Cytoskeleton during Neocortical Development - ScienceDirect
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CLASP2 Links Reelin To The Cytoskeleton During Neocortical Development - PMC
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CLASP2 Links Reelin to the Cytoskeleton during Neocortical Development - PubMed
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Abelson phosphorylation of CLASP2 modulates its association with microtubules and actin - PubMed
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Abelson Phosphorylation of CLASP2 Modulates its Association With Microtubules and Actin - PMC
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Microtubule Plus-End Tracking Protein CLASP2 Regulates Neuronal Polarity and Synaptic Function | Journal of Neuroscience
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Microtubule plus-end tracking protein CLASP2 regulates neuronal polarity and synaptic function - PubMed
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Microtubule plus-end binding protein CLASP2 in neural development
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Distinct Functions for Mammalian CLASP1 and -2 During Neurite and Axon Elongation - PMC
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Abelson phosphorylation of CLASP2 modulates its association with microtubules and actin - Engel - 2014 - Cytoskeleton - Wiley Online Library
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What is a Neural Network? - GeeksforGeeks
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What Is a Neural Network? | IBM
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Neocognitron: A self-organizing neural network model for a ...
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Repetitive training enhances the pattern recognition capability of cultured neural networks | PLOS Computational Biology
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Neural Pattern - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
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A network view on brain regions involved in experts’ object and pattern recognition: Implications for the neural mechanisms of skilled visual perception - PMC
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How Neural Networks Mimic the Human Brain | Onyx
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Neural network (machine learning) - Wikipedia
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Pattern Recognition: Cognitive Theory & Neural Mechanisms | Cogn-IQ
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Neural Networks Help Us Understand How the Brain ...
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The Human Default Consciousness and Its Disruption: Insights From an EEG Study of Buddhist Jhāna Meditation - PMC
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Hanam Jungwon - Wikipedia
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Frontiers | The Human Default Consciousness and Its Disruption: Insights From an EEG Study of Buddhist Jhāna Meditation
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About: Hanam Jungwon
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Korean Seon Buddhism
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Disentangling the neural mechanisms involved in Hinduism- and Buddhism-related meditations - ScienceDirect
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.5, No.3
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Mind Changing Brain Changing Mind: The Dharma and Neuroscience - Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
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TYPE Mini Review PUBLISHED 04 August 2025 DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1649564
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Neural mechanisms involved in Hinduism vs Buddhism related meditation