In this article, the mechanisms of central pain syndrome (CPS) are examined for the purpose of gaining insight into how a unified conscious experience arises from brain and body interaction. We provide a novel etiolog...In this article, the mechanisms of central pain syndrome (CPS) are examined for the purpose of gaining insight into how a unified conscious experience arises from brain and body interaction. We provide a novel etiology for CPS via implementation of the previously proposed 3D Default Space (3DDS) consciousness model in which consciousness and body schema arise when afferent information is processed by corticothalamic feedback loops and integrated via the thalamus. Further, we propose the mechanisms by which CPS represents deficits in dynamic interactions between afferent and efferent signaling. Modern hypotheses of CPS suggest roles for maladaptive neuroplasticity, a deafferentated somatosensory cortex and/or thalamus, and reorganization along the sensory pathways of the spinothalamic tract in the pathogenesis of the painful sensations. We propose that CPS arises when painful sensory signals originating along the maladapted and/or dysfunctional spinothalamic tract become accentuated by the dominant top down mechanisms of the brain.展开更多
Consciousness is the unified, structured, subjective experience that we all share. The Default Space Theory has been proposed as a unified theory of consciousness that includes the brain and body in describing the inf...Consciousness is the unified, structured, subjective experience that we all share. The Default Space Theory has been proposed as a unified theory of consciousness that includes the brain and body in describing the infrastructure of consciousness. We have presented the theory in journals with a variety of academic specialties;however, the model is continually being developed. Due to the current state of science on the nature of conscious experience lacking hard data, the theory’s concepts must thoroughly explain and shoulder phenomenological observations including the phenomenology of deficits of consciousness. According to the theory, the thalamus serves as a central hub which networks the globally distributed, and continuous fast oscillations not only among the brain, but also the eyes, ears, skin, and other sensory organs. These oscillations form the virtual template of external space within the mind in which external sensory information is integrated into this pre-existing, dynamic space. In this article, we explore phenomenological support for our theory of conscious experience in which such experience resides entirely in such a virtual space, termed the default space. In order to provide such support, we discuss simple personal experiments and observations which anyone can partake along with phenomenal symptoms of clinical deficits. We encourage readers to perform the personal experiments we describe in order to gain an understanding of the various concepts of the theory. The neurological deficits we elucidate not only support the theory but clarify obscurities surrounding these conditions. We assert the support we give in our theory here will advance the uphill struggle many paramount theories face in gaining initial acceptance. Further research is needed in order to acquire empirical evidence for the veracity of our theory.展开更多
At present, researchers are unclear about which activity within the brain is responsible for the emergence of consciousness—the subconscious or unconscious. Current literature suggests that consciousness is isolated ...At present, researchers are unclear about which activity within the brain is responsible for the emergence of consciousness—the subconscious or unconscious. Current literature suggests that consciousness is isolated in the brain;however, we suggest consciousness emerges from both—subconscious and unconscious activity, in addition to sensory consciousness. This article contends that sensory consciousness arises from neurophysiological brain activity, intrapersonal space, sensory information, and parallel processing of the external and internal environment through vision, olfaction, the integumentary system, gustation, and audition. Traditionally, lateral inhibition is defined as the ability for an excited neuron to laterally inhibit its neighbors, and is an integral part of neurophysiology in all senses. In this article, we are connecting the science behind the well-established physiological observations of gamma wave activity in the interneurons of peripheral receptors with what is currently unknown regarding the functional significance of seemingly unrelated gamma activity in the cortico-thalamic gamma oscillations. We suggest that this allows for instantaneous integration of the brain with sensory receptors. This article uses existing literature on lateral inhibition to investigate its role in sensory organs and various areas of the body. We explain how sensory consciousness is only one component of unified consciousness. We propose that lateral inhibition also plays a vital role in consciousness theory, and understanding this can help illustrate the dynamic interactions between the central and peripheral nervous systems within the body.展开更多
文摘In this article, the mechanisms of central pain syndrome (CPS) are examined for the purpose of gaining insight into how a unified conscious experience arises from brain and body interaction. We provide a novel etiology for CPS via implementation of the previously proposed 3D Default Space (3DDS) consciousness model in which consciousness and body schema arise when afferent information is processed by corticothalamic feedback loops and integrated via the thalamus. Further, we propose the mechanisms by which CPS represents deficits in dynamic interactions between afferent and efferent signaling. Modern hypotheses of CPS suggest roles for maladaptive neuroplasticity, a deafferentated somatosensory cortex and/or thalamus, and reorganization along the sensory pathways of the spinothalamic tract in the pathogenesis of the painful sensations. We propose that CPS arises when painful sensory signals originating along the maladapted and/or dysfunctional spinothalamic tract become accentuated by the dominant top down mechanisms of the brain.
文摘Consciousness is the unified, structured, subjective experience that we all share. The Default Space Theory has been proposed as a unified theory of consciousness that includes the brain and body in describing the infrastructure of consciousness. We have presented the theory in journals with a variety of academic specialties;however, the model is continually being developed. Due to the current state of science on the nature of conscious experience lacking hard data, the theory’s concepts must thoroughly explain and shoulder phenomenological observations including the phenomenology of deficits of consciousness. According to the theory, the thalamus serves as a central hub which networks the globally distributed, and continuous fast oscillations not only among the brain, but also the eyes, ears, skin, and other sensory organs. These oscillations form the virtual template of external space within the mind in which external sensory information is integrated into this pre-existing, dynamic space. In this article, we explore phenomenological support for our theory of conscious experience in which such experience resides entirely in such a virtual space, termed the default space. In order to provide such support, we discuss simple personal experiments and observations which anyone can partake along with phenomenal symptoms of clinical deficits. We encourage readers to perform the personal experiments we describe in order to gain an understanding of the various concepts of the theory. The neurological deficits we elucidate not only support the theory but clarify obscurities surrounding these conditions. We assert the support we give in our theory here will advance the uphill struggle many paramount theories face in gaining initial acceptance. Further research is needed in order to acquire empirical evidence for the veracity of our theory.
文摘At present, researchers are unclear about which activity within the brain is responsible for the emergence of consciousness—the subconscious or unconscious. Current literature suggests that consciousness is isolated in the brain;however, we suggest consciousness emerges from both—subconscious and unconscious activity, in addition to sensory consciousness. This article contends that sensory consciousness arises from neurophysiological brain activity, intrapersonal space, sensory information, and parallel processing of the external and internal environment through vision, olfaction, the integumentary system, gustation, and audition. Traditionally, lateral inhibition is defined as the ability for an excited neuron to laterally inhibit its neighbors, and is an integral part of neurophysiology in all senses. In this article, we are connecting the science behind the well-established physiological observations of gamma wave activity in the interneurons of peripheral receptors with what is currently unknown regarding the functional significance of seemingly unrelated gamma activity in the cortico-thalamic gamma oscillations. We suggest that this allows for instantaneous integration of the brain with sensory receptors. This article uses existing literature on lateral inhibition to investigate its role in sensory organs and various areas of the body. We explain how sensory consciousness is only one component of unified consciousness. We propose that lateral inhibition also plays a vital role in consciousness theory, and understanding this can help illustrate the dynamic interactions between the central and peripheral nervous systems within the body.
