There have been great advances in the neurological sciences in recent years including some in the higher functions of the brain such as memory but one of the more critical of these with close ties to memory is consciousness which remains an enigma. Revolutionary developments in genetics during the last two decades, referred to as epigenetics, have provided opportunity for discovery. The...
Consciousness develops from birth during the early months as the senses and other nervous system functions mature sufficiently to receive, process and store information. Among these is the ascending reticular activating (arousal) system in the brain stem that is responsible for wakefulness and was proposed by Penfield and Jasper more than 50 years ago as the "controlling mechanism for states of...