Synchrony and subjective experience: the neural correlates of the stream of consciousness.

Subjective conscious experience arises from effortless interpretations that feel like perceived facts, called p-interpretations, which are inherently idiosyncratic and integrate past and expected future moments into the present. Differential neural synchrony between groups suggests that parts of gestalt cortex, including the inferior parietal lobule and posterior temporal cortex, along with posterior medial cortex, track these p-interpretations. This differential synchrony may reflect each person's preexisting non-sensory representations—such as expectations, memories, and motivations—being integrated with sensory inputs to produce unique, meaning-infused immediate experiences across the stream of consciousness.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Human subjectivity, our first-person conscious experience of the world, is among the deepest scientific mysteries. This opinion article lays out an approach to examining the neural correlates of subjectivity as it unfolds over time. Subjective experience is inherently idiosyncratic, arising from effortless interpretations that feel like perceived facts (p-interpretations), and integrative, with past and expected future moments influencing the current experience. Differential synchrony effects (i.e., neural synchrony that differs between groups) suggest that parts of gestalt cortex (inferior parietal lobule and posterior temporal cortex) and posterior medial cortex track p-interpretations. Differential synchrony may result from each person's preexisting idiosyncratic non-sensory representations (e.g., expectations, memories, motivations) being integrated with sensory inputs to yield unique meaning-infused immediate experiences across the stream of consciousness.