ALPHABETICAL BRAIN™ VOCABULARY QUOTATIONS ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS August 23, 2019 TOUCHING A NERVE: the Self As Brain by Patricia S. Churchland. W. W. Norton, 2013 (304 pages) QUOTATIONS ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS "The most basic experience we all have of the difference between being conscious and not being conscious is falling asleep. In the state of deep sleep, we are essentially unaware and without conscious experience. Our goals and plans are on hold and we don't engage in purposeful action." And "we have no memory of being in deep sleep. It is almost like the conscious self ceases to exist." (226) "Consequently, sleep has long been a compelling entry point for asking the fundamental question about consciousness: What is different about the brain when we are conscious and when we are not?" (226) "If we can make progress on the distinct neurobiological profiles of being in deep sleep and being awake or dreaming, it may help us answer the following question: How does the brain generate conscious experience?" (226) "The neurologist Nicholas Shiff, who studied disorders of consciousness, explored the incoming and outgoing neural pathways of the thalamus. According to his hypothesis, to be conscious of anything requires activity from a ribbon of neurons in the middle of the thalamus, whose activity is itself regulated by neurons in the brainstem, which is a very old structure evolutionarily speaking." (234) "Psychologist Bernard Baars (1989) proposed a framework for research on consciousness with a view of fostering a coevolution of psychology and neurobiology. He realized that to understand how we are conscious of specific events, we need to know a lot more about the entire brain, the nature of the pathways between neural pools, and how subcortical structures interact with the cortex." (239-240) instantly return to: QUOTATIONS ABOUT CONSCIOUSNESS or instantly return to: WEBSITE INDEX produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas™