Elusive Consciousness

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari, Surendrasingh Pokharana, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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and intriguing. Any discussion on consciousness, from the point of view of neuroscience has no relevance in this context. On the other hand, we are also inspired and continuously challenged by the scientific knowledge in the domain of the neurocognitive processes which occur with and without awareness of the inputs, and the outputs from the body, brain-mind. In neuroscience, first of all, consciousness is not a force. We only refer to conscious processing, for referring to the use of personal controls knowingly used in processing inputs and outputs. A living being is considered conscious if it can carry on interacting with the external world and internal conditions with available sensory-motor processing abilities. Responding is controlled by sensory inputs, whereas actions are initiated by need states. Response may also be initiated without perception and awareness of perception, when they are initiated from memory or experiences. On the one hand, the brain attends selectively to sensory signals arriving from outside or generated within the body, and on the other hand the brain attends to information retrieved from memory. We call the later remembrance of autobiographic episodes, which is different from mere knowing or recognizing. Parts of the frontal brain (orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate) function as controlling systems, whereas other centers remain and function as controlled systems. The controlling systems keep the controlled system under the inhibitory control, which use the inhibitory controls, as needed for the regulation of motor outputs, instinctive behavior, sensory inputs, and emotional arousal and its effects on behavior. Signals from the external world enter the brain in a sequential or simultaneous manner and the human brain has developed extensive processing capabilities based on the nature of signal flow into the brain. We have thereby a sequential processing method, different from simultaneous or parallel processing method. Neural cells develop both these methods through intensive training. These are the two major neural methods used for signal processing in the brain to interpret and create meanings of all signals arriving at the brain. Responding and acting have turned into two major domains of behavioral programming, resulting in learning piloting and navigating methods. Piloting needs feedback from the stimulus or the external world that controls the movements, whereas navigation uses a feedforward method allowing the brain learn to define purpose for actions, identify goals to achieve for serving the purpose, and plan, anticipate and execute the action plans for achieving the goals. The brain even learns to redefine goals and action plans as per the anticipated and actual effects. The brain learns to create meanings in a critically sequential manner, which allows it to know and master the physical laws that govern any change in the universe, and which enables the brain to create new strategies of controls and thereby create new realities in the universe. Sequential interpretations are the major semantic strategy used by the brain. Thinking, speaking and writing allows to arrange words for creating sequence of effects,
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