Minimal neuroanatomy for a conscious brain: homing in on the networks constituting consciousness - PubMed (original) (raw)

Minimal neuroanatomy for a conscious brain: homing in on the networks constituting consciousness

Ezequiel Morsella et al. Neural Netw. 2010 Jan.

Abstract

There is a consensus that consciousness is constituted by only a subset of all neuroanatomical regions and processes, but no agreement exists regarding which particular subset(s) constitutes it. We propose that a consensus will be reached if investigators (a) pool their knowledge regarding the regions whose non-participation does not in principle render the nervous system devoid of consciousness (e.g., the cerebellum, amygdalae, hippocampi, hemispheric commissures, 'pre-cortical' thalamus, and vast regions of the cortex), and (b) focus on the long-overlooked olfactory system. This 'brutally reductionistic' approach may isolate the physical basis of consciousness; even its falsification would help to illuminate this enigma.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Barr ML, Kierman JA. The human nervous system. Philadelphia: Lippincott;
    1. Bensafi M, Zelano CM, Johnson BN, Mainland JD, Khan R, Sobel N. Olfaction: From sniff to percept. In: Gazzaniga MS, editor. The Cognitive Neurosciences III. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 2004. pp. 259–280.
    1. Buck LB. Smell and taste: The chemical senses. In: Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM, editors. Principles of neural science. 4. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2000. pp. 625–647.
    1. Greenfield SA. The private life of the brain. New York: Wiley; 2000.
    1. Herz RS. The effect of verbal context on olfactory perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 2003;132:595–606. -PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources