Consciousness requires specific functions {prerequisite functions for consciousness} {consciousness, prerequisite functions}.
coding
In a one-millisecond interval, one neuron axon can carry one spike or no spike. Time sequences can make serial binary codes. In a one-millisecond interval, one neuron synapse can carry one neurotransmitter packet or no packet. Time sequences can make serial binary codes. Neuron sets can make parallel binary codes.
Body analog signals can be chemical concentrations, ion concentrations, pressures, electric currents, or voltages. Neurons can change analog wave inputs into digital spike outputs, using comb filters. Neurons can change axon digital spike inputs into analog wave outputs using parallel oscillators or resistances for frequency modulation.
frequency
Neuron axons can carry frequencies up to 800 Hz. Neuron assemblies can detect mechanical frequencies up to 20,000 Hz, using phase differences. Neurons can detect frequency bands.
Neuron assemblies can modulate neuron-code carrier-wave frequency and amplitude to transfer signals.
intensity
Neurons can detect energy flow using consecutive starting and ending flow points. Neurons can detect intensity ranges. Neurons can detect mass or weight using consecutive starting and ending lifting points.
Brain can use Wheatstone-bridge-like electrochemical mechanisms to null sense quantity to measure it precisely.
Brain can use Wheatstone-bridge-like electrochemical mechanisms to tune to value to measure it precisely.
space
Neuron pairs can detect starting and ending space points for locations, directions, and distances. Hearing uses amplitude and timing differences to locate sounds. Vision uses angle and distance differences, plus timing and amplitude differences, to locate features. Touch, taste, and smell use relative distance and amplitude differences to locate surfaces. Objects and events can be near/far, right/left, and up/down. Near/far determination uses projection. Right/left determination uses midline. Up/down determination uses horizon.
ON-center cells can detect local spatial relations. For example, cell can have horizontal band at center to detect space between two objects, band above to detect object above, or band below to detect object below. Cells with horizontal and/or vertical bands can detect all local spatial relations.
motion
Neuron pairs can detect motion using consecutive starting and ending points. Detecting body motions uses correlated sensations, such as front-to-back airflows and kinesthetic sensors. Trajectory perception allows extrapolation and/or interpolation.
vibration
Touch receptors can detect mechanical vibrations up to 30 Hertz, which are also the lowest-frequency vibrations detected by hearing receptors. Below 20 Hz, people feel pressure changes as vibration, rather than hearing them as sound. Images flashed at 20-Hz rate begin to blend. 20-Hz vibration rate is also maximum breathing, muscle-flex, and harmonic-body-movement rate. Muscles can contract at 20-Hz maximum rate, if muscles have no reflex or rebound response, unlike bird or insect wings.
transformation
Neuron assemblies can perform translation, inversion, rotation, reflection, and rotation/reflection by coordinate transformations using tensors.
reference frame
When eyes, head, or body moves intentionally, brain can make perceptual world remain stationary. Brain transforms whole scene, inverting linear transformations that caused movement, to cancel body movements and positions. Brain can transform through all dimensions and all angles for all muscle and body-part motions.
pattern manipulation
Brain can manipulate patterns, such as subtracting string from string or dividing two-dimensional arrays. For example, for strings "1122334455" and "4455", brain can subtract second from first to get "112233" in one operation: $1 - $2 = $3. For matrix, brain can find submatrix in one operation: M1/M2 = M3. In the same way, brain can find remainder in one operation. Brain has directory, pattern, file, and operating-system commands, such as "cmp" or "diff" Unix commands. Using these, brain can find greatest common pattern between two patterns and combine patterns to make larger patterns.
time
Neurons can synchronize signals using timing neurons and chemicals. ON-center cells can detect local temporal relations using spatial-relation changes. For example, cell can have horizontal band at center to detect time between two events, band above to detect event above, or band below to detect event below. Cells with horizontal and/or vertical bands can detect all local temporal relations. Neuron pairs can detect starting and ending time points, using phase differences to measure microsecond intervals.
mathematics
Neurons can add by summing excitatory inputs. Neurons can subtract by adding positive excitatory input and negative inhibitory input. Neurons can multiply using synapses that act like transistors, priming cell bodies to enhance dendritic inputs, or gating axons near synapses. Neurons can divide by multiplying reciprocal quantities. Neurons can find ratios by division, which is inverse multiplication. Neuron assemblies can integrate differentials. Neuron assemblies can differentiate integrals. Neuron assemblies can determine functions by correlating function domain and range values. Neural circuits allow iteration.
indexing
Neuron assemblies index all sensed objects and events, for memory and recall, including body parts and positions. Indexes have cross-references and links. Reference types can differ. For example, text documents can reference document path, page, paragraph, heading, bookmark, footnote, table, figure, slide, equation, or other named or numbered location. Document references can be to numbered pages, numbered paragraphs, text, something above reference, or something below reference.
language
Perhaps, consciousness requires language. However, sensations vary more than language [Ramachandran, 2004]. Perhaps, only humans are self-consciousness and have feelings, because only they have language.
Consciousness requires specific structures {prerequisite structures for consciousness} {consciousness, prerequisite structures}.
body
Body, separate from brain, carries sensors and performs movements. Body surfaces interface with environment and define body-part positions. Body surfaces encounter obstacles and interact with objects.
Body and brain pair structures, for redundancy and cooperation. Redundancy allows one structure to perform required function, while other structure can start new function.
Voluntary muscles allow repositioning sense organs, moving toward and way from perceived objects, and obtaining different viewpoints.
Gravity establishes vertical pressure gradient from toe to head.
Chemical gradients across body, organs, and organ modules establish growth, repair, and development axes.
brain
Brain, separate from body, optimizes distances between processing centers, for fastest speed and most interaction. Brain regions have locations that optimize function. Frontal lobe is in front, so its pathways can loop through thalamus and cortex with correct timing and spatial layout. Cerebellum is at rear, to connect to brainstem and to have proper timing with motor and touch sense systems. Cortex overlaps lower brain regions, to time multisensory and motor processes correctly. Brainstem is central, to activate and interact efficiently.
Brain regions simulate body and environment spatial relations, using topographic neuron layers.
Brain has three-dimensional registers to store information and to make behavior and memory lookup tables.
Neural pathways go out and return to make ring or loop that allows feedback, feedforward, iteration, memory read, memory write, and reverberation.
Brain regions can have circuits that cross up-down, right-left, and front-back. Switchboards allow read and write operations.
Neurons interact with neighboring and distant neurons (neuron assemblies) to make overall behavior, mental function, and mood. Neurons adhere to other neurons and glia to form groups and layers that determine processing.
Neurons have different shapes and chemicals to allow different processing types.
Neurons have excitatory and inhibitory chemical synapses, with synapse plasticity.
Neurons have support cells (glia) that regulate chemical environment.
senses
Sense systems have receptor and neuron-type spatial and temporal patterns, with interconnections to make distinctive signals and codes [Ackerman, 1990].
Multiple sense systems, especially vision, kinesthetic, and touch systems, allow comparisons among sense spaces and intensities to make consensus space and time.
Body needs pain, temperature, kinesthesia, and vestibular systems (inside senses) to know body-part locations.
Body needs vision, hearing, and touch (outside senses) to know outside object locations.
Sense receptors absorb stimulus energy to polarize membranes and measure stimulus intensities. Sense systems have many receptor types.
ground of Earth
Main object outside body is the mostly horizontal ground. Ground establishes horizontal, with fundamental directions straight ahead and right/left. Body is perpendicular to ground, so ground establishes vertical direction. Specialized body surfaces contact ground, and feet feel substantial pressure.
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Date Modified: 2022.0225