title: A functional view of consciousness and its relations in brain.
abstract: Consciousness is seen as evolving jointly with plasticity, self-direction, and autonomy. Its main function is interpreted as the partially autonomous direction of behavioral living in accordance with a vast system of plastic patterns of inner construction, and the development of these--all in the service of a central concern with widely-perceived global well-being. Its central constituents are: conscious awareness itself; sensations and images of sensory bombardment; active development and utilization of inner constructions; and active direction of attention, actions, and behavior. Consciousness operates by the partially autonomous feedback redirection of activation-energization in response to a global distribution of neurobiological flags and states. Central qualities of conscious experience are addressed from this view. Consciousness may act towards an overall principle of minimization. Contrasting its existentially observable manifestations and its neurobiological correspondences provides foundations for five basic views of the fundamental nature of consciousness and its relation to brain.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: MacGregor
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D011603:Psychophysiology