Minimal neuroanatomy for a conscious brain: homing in on the networks constituting consciousness.
There is a consensus that consciousness is constituted by only a subset of all neuroanatomical regions and processes, but no agreement exists regarding which particular subset(s) constitutes it. We propose that a consensus will be reached if investigators (a) pool their knowledge regarding the regions whose non-participation does not in principle render the nervous system devoid of consciousness (e.g., the cerebellum, amygdalae, hippocampi, hemispheric commissures, 'pre-cortical' thalamus, and vast regions of the cortex), and (b) focus on the long-overlooked olfactory system. This 'brutally reductionistic' approach may isolate the physical basis of consciousness; even its falsification would help to illuminate this enigma.
Morsella
Ezequiel
E
Department of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA 94132-4168, United States. morsella@sfsu.edu
Krieger
Stephen C
SC
Bargh
John A
JA
D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009445:Neuroanatomy