From hidden springs to endless oceans: exploring the complementary roles of the amygdala and hippocampus in phenomenal experience.
Neuroscience of consciousness January 1, 2026 Ronald Sladky
Consciousness is often thought to be centered on the self, with the insular cortex and subcortical regions supporting self-modeling and motivation. However, reports of minimal phenomenal experience (MPE) describe states without any self-referential content, challenging this ego-centric view. This theoretical paper proposes a dual-origin theory of cortical development to explain this duality. The 'Amygdala-System', expanding from the amygdala and olfactory system, supports interoceptive self-modeling and ego-centric processing. In contrast, the 'Hippocampus-System', centered on the hippocampus, supports allocentric cognition and selfless experiences, akin to an 'endless ocean'. MPE may be a fragile form of consciousness typically overshadowed by the Amygdala-System. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback could upregulate the Hippocampus-System to enable controlled study of MPE.