Functions of consciousness: Proprioception and mental imagery.
Behavioral and Brain Sciences June 25, 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25102884 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Humans Consciousness Imagination Proprioception |
| Key points | The author considers whether Fleming and Michel's account of the functions of conscious vision can generalize beyond vision, examining conscious proprioception and conscious mental imagery as test cases. The commentary does not report new data but argues that the difficulty of defining consciousness functions stems partly from the term covering many sensory modalities and cognitive processes. |
Abstract
Determining the functions of consciousness is difficult, in part because the term "consciousness" subsumes many different sensory modalities and aspects of cognitive processing. Fleming and Michel make an excellent start by forwarding compelling arguments regarding functions for conscious vision. I consider how their picture might generalize beyond vision, by looking at two areas: conscious proprioception and conscious mental imagery.
Citations in the library
Cites 4
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- The functional contributions of consciousness. Consciousness and Cognition August 10, 2022
- Perceptual awareness negativity: a physiological correlate of sensory consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences June 22, 2021