A Mechanistic Theory of Consciousness

Abstract

Recently we proposed a theory of consciousness, the schema theory, based on findings in cognitive psychology and systems neuroscience. In that theory, consciousness is an internal model of or an attention schema. Consciousness relates to in the same way that the internal model of the body, the schema, relates to the physical body. The body schema is used to model and help control the body. The schema is used to model and help regulate attention, a data-handling process in the brain in which some signals are enhanced at the expense of other signals. We proposed that and the schema co-evolved over the past half-billion years. Over that time span, the schema may have taken on additional functions such as promoting the integration of information across diverse domains and promoting social cognition. This paper summarizes some of the main points of the schema theory, suggests how a brain with an schema might conc...