Neural Circuits, Microtubule Processing, Brain's Electromagnetic Field-Components of Self-Awareness.
Alicja Różyk-myrta, Andrzej Brodziak, Małgorzata Muc-Wierzgoń
Brain Sciences July 25, 2021 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11080984 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ego dissolution |
| Keywords | Electromagnetic field Mental imagery Microtubule Self-awareness |
| Citations | 18 |
| Key points | Proposes that integrating quantum processing in microtubules, the brain's electromagnetic field, and neural circuits for imagery can form a coherent theoretical model of consciousness. |
Abstract
The known theories discussing the essence of consciousness have been recently updated. This prompts an attempt to integrate these explanations concerning several distinct components of the consciousness phenomenon such as the ego, and qualia perceptions. Therefore, it is useful to consider the latest publications on the 'Orch OR' and 'cemi' theories, which assume that quantum processing occurs in microtubules and that the brain's endogenous electromagnetic field is important. The authors combine these explanations with their own theory describing the neural circuits realizing imagery. They try to present such an interdisciplinary, integrated theoretical model in a manner intuitively understandable to people with a typical medical education. In order to do this, they even refer to intuitively understandable metaphors. The authors maintain that an effective comprehension of consciousness is important for health care professionals because its disorders are frequent medical symptoms in emergencies, during general anesthesia and in the course of cognitive disorders in elderly people. The authors emphasize the current possibilities to verify these theses regarding the essence of consciousness thanks to the development of functional brain imaging methods-magnetoencephalography, transcranial magnetic stimulation-as well as clinical studies on the modification of perceptions and feelings by such techniques as mindfulness and the use of certain psychoactive substances, especially among people with self-awareness and identity disorders.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ego dissolution, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self unbound: ego dissolution in psychedelic experience | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Ethics and ego dissolution: the case of psilocybin | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mystical and Other Alterations in Sense of Self: An Expanded Framework for Studying Nonordinary Experiences | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Psychedelic medicalization, public discourse, and the morality of ego dissolution | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 15
- Consciousness in the universe: a review of the 'Orch OR' theory. March 1, 2014
- Finding the self by losing the self: Neural correlates of ego-dissolution under psilocybin Human Brain Mapping May 22, 2015
- Integrating information in the brain's EM field: the cemi field theory of consciousness. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2020
- Investigation on Neurobiological Mechanisms of Dreaming in the New Decade Brain Sciences February 11, 2021
- 'Orch OR' is the most complete, and most easily falsifiable theory of consciousness. Cognitive Neuroscience 2021
and 10 more in the library