what is consciousness?

Consciousness? !- The final frontier.............

 what is consciousness? 

Consciousness implies awareness: subjective, phenomenal experience of internal and external worlds. Consciousness also implies a sense of self, feelings, choice, control of voluntary behavior, memory, thought, language, and  internally-generated images and geometric patterns(e.g. when we close our eyes, or meditate).

 But what consciousness actually is remains unknown. Our views of reality, of the universe, of ourselves depend on consciousness. Consciousness defines our existence!

 As per Neuro-scientists, the concept of consciousness as a  function of specific areas of brain.

To understand conscious mind we have to understand the other aspects of brain function: 

Non-conscious functions such as spinal and brain stem reflexes and neuro-endocrine control. 

Fortunately, we know a great deal about non-conscious neural machinery that ought to be applicable for explaining conscious mind. Common sense, as well as a great deal of neuro-scientific evidence, indicates that the conscious mind emerges from the same place that houses non-conscious and subconscious minds: circuits in the brain.

Consciousness depends on an “ascending reticular arousal system” (ARAS) in the brain stem that activates the neocortex to generate consciousness. The ARAS receives direct activating collateral input from all traditional senses (except olfaction) and in turn activates the neocortex to produce alert wakefulness. Part of this ascending activating pathway also includes the rostral extension of brain stem reticular neurons that surround the main body of the thalamus. Electrical stimulation of the reticular thalamus evokes the characteristic signs of consciousness, namely, field-potential gamma waves in widespread areas of the neocortex.

oscillatory synchronization in brain neural columns as the basis for consciousness.Cortical column assemblies oscillate because the microcircuits in a mini-column oscillate, and since mini-columns are cross connected, they can couple with each other with varying degrees of time locking. Such functional coupling provides a basis for binding the distributed functions and thus generating unified perceptions and thoughts .

 The brain constructs representations of  what is sensed and thought about in the form of nerve impulses that propagate in circuits and network assemblies (Circuit Impulse Patterns, CIPs). CIP representations of which humans are consciously aware occur in the context of a sense of self.

 

still lot of enigma around the consciousness!  

still, scientists can not explain the features of consciousness include the following: 

1.The ‘hard problem’ What is the nature of phenomenal experience, and what distinguishes conscious from non-conscious cognition?

Perception and behavior may be accompanied or driven by phenomenal conscious awareness, experience, or subjective feelings, composed of what philosophers call ‘qualia’ . However perception and behavior may at other times be unaccompanied by consciousness. We could have evolved as full-time non-conscious ‘zombies’ performing complex ‘auto-pilot’ behaviors without conscious awareness. How and why do we have phenomenal consciousness, an ‘inner life’ of subjective experience?

2.‘Binding’ Disparate sensory inputs are processed in different brain regions, at slightly different times, and yet are bound together into unified conscious content (‘binding’) . How is conscious content bound together? Synchrony Neuronal membrane polarization states may be precisely synchronized over large regions of brain , and also propagate through brain regions as synchronized zones . 

Does precise synchrony require electrical synapses (‘gap junctions’) and/or quantum entanglement? Does synchrony reflect discrete, unified conscious moments? 

3.‘Non-computability’ and causal agency:  As shown by Gödel’s theorem, Penrose  described how the mental quality of ‘understanding’ cannot be encapsulated by any computational system and must derive from some ‘non-computable’ effect. Moreover, the neurocomputational approach to volition(will), where algorithmic computation completely determines all thought processes, appears to close  any possibility for independent causal agency, or free will. Something else is needed. What non-computable factor may occur in the brain?

4.Cognitive behaviors of single cell organisms Protozoans like Physarum can escape mazes and solve problems, and Paramecium can swim, find food and mates, learn, remember and have sex, all without synaptic connections . How do single cells manifest intelligent behavior?

  "I AM" because i am aware of myself!

Am I aware of my self even without this body(brain)?

• Dualistic philosophies suggest,"consciousness is considered a distinct entity that could, in theory, exist independently of the physical body.
• Monistic perspectives, on the other hand, posit that consciousness is intricately tied to the body and cannot exist independently.
• Various spiritual and metaphysical traditions propose the idea of a soul or a non-physical essence that persists beyond the body's death. According to these views, consciousness continues beyond the physical realm.

In summary, the study of consciousness spans various disciplines, each offering unique insights into its nature. The integration of philosophical, neuroscientific, cognitive, and psychological perspectives continues to drive exploration into this enigmatic aspect of human experience. 

Despite significant progress, the mystery of consciousness remains a captivating frontier in our quest for understanding the essence of existence.