A Study on the Emergence Mechanism of Human Thought Based on Neural Electrical Activity

Human thought and consciousness arise from the electrochemical activities of neurons, but how neural electrical signals transform into subjective thoughts remains unclear. This theoretical analysis proposes a hierarchical model: ionic electrical activity leads to local feature coding, then whole-brain signal integration, and finally thought emergence. Although individual action potentials follow the all-or-none law, neurons encode information through firing rate and temporal patterns. Thoughts are macroscopic emergent properties produced by synchronous firing of large-scale neural clusters and recursive loop activities across multiple brain regions. Competitive screening, global broadcasting, and dynamic integration of electrical signals in neural networks constitute the core links from physical electrochemical activities to subjective cognitive thoughts.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Objective: Human thought and consciousness are core advanced cognitive functions of the human brain, whose material basis derives from electrochemical activities of neurons. To explore the transformation mechanism from neural electrical signals to subjective thoughts, this paper systematically sorts out the micro-transmission rules of neuronal electrical signals, the intermediate coding process of neural networks and the macroscopic emergence mechanism of whole-brain collaborative activity. Methods: Based on the generation principle of action potential, synaptic transmission mechanism, Global Workspace Theory (GWT) and neural plasticity theory, this study constructs a hierarchical transformation model: ionic electrical activity rightarrow local feature coding rightarrow whole-brain signal integration rightarrow thought emergence, using literature review and theoretical analysis. Results: The results indicate that, although individual action potentials obey the all-or-none law, neurons can encode multi-level information through firing rate and temporal patterns. Human thoughts are macroscopic emergent properties produced by synchronous firing of large-scale neural clusters and recursive loop activities across multiple brain regions. Competitive screening, global broadcasting and dynamic integration of electrical signals in neural networks constitute the core links for the transition from physical electrochemical activities to subjective cognitive thoughts. Conclusion: This study clarifies the essential difference between underlying neural electrical signals and advanced thinking activities, and provides a complete theoretical framework for the transformation from electrical signals to thoughts, offering theoretical reference for the exploration of brain cognitive mechanism, bionic design of artificial intelligence and neuroconsciousness research.