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.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 17
- On the Hierarchical Organization of Oscillatory Assemblies: Layered Superimposition and a Global Bioelectric Framework. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2019
- Dynamics of the Sphere Model of Consciousness: Silence, Space, and Self. Frontiers in Psychology 2020
- Change in Time Perception Following the Place of Pre-Existence Technique International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health February 16, 2023
- Meditation Experiences, Self, and Boundaries of Consciousness International Journal of Complementary & Alternative Medicine 2016
- Beyond awareness: the binding of reflexive mechanisms with the conscious mind: a perspective from default space theory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2024
and 12 more in the library
Cites 26
- An information integration theory of consciousness BMC Neuroscience November 2, 2004
- Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biological Bulletin December 1, 2008
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Lucid Dreaming: a State of Consciousness with Features of Both Waking and Non-Lucid Dreaming Sleep September 1, 2009
- Spectral Signatures of Reorganised Brain Networks in Disorders of Consciousness PLoS Computational Biology October 16, 2014
and 21 more in the library