A unified 3D default space consciousness model combining neurological and physiological processes that underlie conscious experience.
Ravinder Jerath, Molly W Crawford, Vernon A Barnes
Frontiers in Psychology 2015 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01204 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | 3d default space Consciousness Corticothalamic feedback loops Global workspace theory Integrated information theory Sensory memory space Thalamus |
| Key points | Proposes that conscious experience arises from the thalamus filling in sensory information within a three-dimensional default space composed of all body cells communicating via gap junctions and electrical potentials. |
Abstract
The Global Workspace Theory and Information Integration Theory are two of the most currently accepted consciousness models; however, these models do not address many aspects of conscious experience. We compare these models to our previously proposed consciousness model in which the thalamus fills-in processed sensory information from corticothalamic feedback loops within a proposed 3D default space, resulting in the recreation of the internal and external worlds within the mind. This 3D default space is composed of all cells of the body, which communicate via gap junctions and electrical potentials to create this unified space. We use 3D illustrations to explain how both visual and non-visual sensory information may be filled-in within this dynamic space, creating a unified seamless conscious experience. This neural sensory memory space is likely generated by baseline neural oscillatory activity from the default mode network, other salient networks, brainstem, and reticular activating system.