The Projective Wave Theory of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive May 20, 2024 via arXiv
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA proposed projective wave theory of consciousness addresses three core difficulties: how neurons that cause consciousness are selected, how a detailed internal model of 3D space arises, and how distorted neural representations are decoded into an undistorted conscious experience. The theory posits that the brain's internal model of local 3D space is held not in neurons but in a wave excitation that carries a projective transform of Euclidean space, and that this wave is the source of spatial consciousness. Although such a wave has not yet been detected, indirect evidence exists in the mammalian thalamus and the insect brain's central body. The theory aligns with the spatial form of consciousness and has a positive Bayesian balance between its assumptions and the data it explains.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Q-bio.nc Spatial cognition Spatial perception Space perception Spatial awareness |
| Key finding | The brain's internal model of local 3D space may be held in a wave excitation rather than in neurons, and this wave could be the source of spatial consciousness. |
Abstract
Neural theories of consciousness face three difficulties: (1) The selection problem: how are those neurons which cause consciousness selected, from all the other neurons which do not? (2) the precision problem: how do neurons hold a detailed internal model of 3D space, as the origin of our spatial conscious experience? and (3) the decoding problem: how are the many distorted neural representations of space in the brain decoded, to give our largely undistorted conscious experience of space? These problems can all be addressed if the brains internal model of local 3D space is held not in neurons, but in a wave excitation (holding a projective transform of Euclidean space), and if the wave is the source of spatial consciousness. Such a wave has not yet been detected in the brain, but there are good reasons why it has not been detected; and there is indirect evidence for a wave, in the mammalian thalamus, and in the central body of the insect brain. The resulting projective wave theory of consciousness gives good agreement with the spatial form of our consciousness. It has a positive Bayesian balance between the complexity of its assumptions and the data it accounts for; this gives a basis to believe it.