Vertical information flow in the brain: on neuronal micro events and consciousness.
P Arhem
Biosystems 1996 DOI: 10.1016/0303-2647(95)01590-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Brain Neurons Ion channels Information science |
| Key points | Argues that an evolutionary perspective supports an interactionist solution to the consciousness problem, in which mental events interact with physical brain events, and that this requires random spontaneous brain activity. Proposes a mechanism for such activity and presents patch-clamp results from hippocampal slices indicating that single channel events may cause random spontaneous neuronal activity, illustrating "vertical information flow" from micro to macro brain events. |
Abstract
The consciousness problem and its relation to theories of spontaneous brain activity are discussed. It is argued that an evolutionary perspective suggests an interactionist solution of the consciousness problem, i.e., mental events interact with physical brain events. A specification of the physical events assumed to be associated with mental events is proposed to make the discussion of mind-brain theories more fruitful. An interactionist solution of the consciousness problem requires random spontaneous brain activity. A mechanism for such activity is proposed on the basis of experimental findings. Some new results from patch-clamp experiments on intact tissue (the hippocampal slice preparation) are presented. The results indicate that single channel events may cause random spontaneous neuronal activity, illustrating the phenomenon of micro events inducing macro or global brain events, and also the central theme of vertical information flow. The findings highlight the importance of understanding the stochastic nature of channel gating.