I received the following email, and wanted to share it here, as requested.
Sir...
You must certainly have the answer...
... the squid which was studied at Wood's Hole (... which is 12 - 18 inches long) several decades ago had a "giant axon" which was 100 times larger than a human axon.
WAS THAT AXON "MYELINATED?"
Does the Wood's Hole squid have a spinal cord... or is the GIANT AXON the spinal cord?
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Does the Humboldt squid (... which can be 6 feet long) have a GIANT AXON?
A SPINAL CORD?
How large (... diameter) is the "MAIN NERVE" of the Humboldt squid?
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Does the Giant Squid (... the 30 foot long beast which was photographed in Japan in 2005) have a GIANT AXON?
A SPINAL CORD?
How large (... diameter) is the " MAIN NERVE" of the Giant Squid?
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Since myelin involves the "jelly roll wrapping of Schwann cells" I doubt that any of the three kinds of squids have MYELINATED MAIN NERVES.
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Herman Melville (MOBY DICK) wrote that the sperm whale spinal cord is 10 inches in diameter and 15-20 feet long.
Is this huge "MAIN NERVE" common to all the creatures which swim in very deep ocean waters?
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I am interested in these things because of my interest in the role of axonal microtubules in the quantum mechanics of the mind.
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Could you post this E-Mail on your splendid web site?
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SORRY TO BOTHER YOU...
Richard Bergland MD
retired academic neurosurgeon...
... long ago, at Cornell, Penn State, Harvard, Oxford, Melbourne, etc.