Evolution of consciousness: Phylogeny, ontogeny, and emergence from general anesthesia
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences June 10, 2013 George A. Mashour, Michael T. Alkire 148 citations
Consciousness likely emerged early in vertebrate evolution, as the basic neural mechanisms supporting it are ancient and highly conserved across species. The stepwise emergence from general anesthesia can serve as a reproducible model to study consciousness across species. The neurobiological structure of the vertebrate central nervous system is evolutionarily ancient, and the neurophysiologic mechanisms supporting human consciousness are found at the earliest points of vertebrate brain evolution. Differences between species in the ability to experience the world are of degree, not kind, supporting Darwin's insight and the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness in Non-Human Animals.