title: The chemosensory brain requires a distributed cellular mechanism to harness information and resolve conflicts - is consciousness the forum?
abstract: The central nervous system (CNS) evolved from a chemosensory epithelium, but a simple epithelium has limited means to resolve conflicts between early drives (e.g., approach vs. avoid). Understanding the role of "consciousness" as a resolution device, with specific focus on chemosensation and the olfactory system, is of appeal. I argue that consciousness is not the adjudicator, but is instead the forum that brings conflicting (conscious) inputs into a form that allows them to be (unconsciously) compared/contrasted, guiding rational action.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infection and Pathway Medicine,University of Edinburgh,Little France,Edinburgh EH16 4SB,United Kingdom.richardlathe@ed.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lathe
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003243:Consciousness; D004328:Drive; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception