How does the non-conscious become conscious?

Investigating the Role of Past Behaviour and Habits in Health Behaviour

By reviewing most of the neurobiology of consciousness, this article highlights some major reasons why a successful emulation of the dynamics of human consciousness by artificial intelligence is unlikely. The analysis provided leads to conclude that human consciousness is epigenetically determined, experience, and context-dependent at the individual level. It is subject to changes in time that are essentially unpredictable. If cracking the code to human consciousness were possible, the result would most likely have to consist of a temporal pattern code simulating long-distance signal reverberation and de-correlation of all spatial signal contents from temporal signals. In the light of the massive evidence for complex interactions between implicit (non-conscious) and explicit (conscious) contents of representation, the code would have to be capable of making implicit (non-conscious) processes explicit. It would have to be capable of a progressively less and less arbitrary selection of temporal activity patterns in a continuously developing neural network structure identical to that of the human brain, from the synaptic level to that of higher cognitive functions. The code’s activation thresholds would depend on specific temporal signal coincidence probabilities, vary considerably with time and across individual experience data, and would therefore require dynamically adaptive computations capable of emulating the properties of individual human experience. No known machine or neural network learning approach has such potential.

This paper explores the relationship between intuition and flow from a neurodynamics perspective. Flow and intuition represent two cognitive phenomena rooted in nonconscious information processing; however, there are clear differences in both their phenomenal characteristics and, more broadly, their contribution to action and cognition. We propose, extrapolating from dual processing theory, that intuition serves as a rapid, nonconscious decision-making process, while flow facilitates this process in action, achieving optimal cognitive control and performance without [conscious] deliberation. By exploring these points of convergence between flow and intuition, we also attempt to reconcile the apparent paradox of the presence of enhanced intuition in flow, which is also a state of heightened cognitive control. To do so, we utilize a revised dual-processing framework, which allows us to productively align and differentiate flow and intuition (including intuition in flow). Furthermore, we draw on recent work examining flow from an active inference perspective. Our account not only heightens understanding of human cognition and consciousness, but also raises new questions for future research, aiming to deepen our comprehension of how flow and intuition can be harnessed to elevate human performance and wellbeing.

Why do we do what we do? This article reviews research on nonconscious and conscious processes and reveals the dominant role of the nonconscious mind in human behavior in general and in leisure behavior in particular. Neural preparation for voluntary action starts well before a conscious intention to act. The nonconscious is the default system, and it seeks to avoid any kind of straining activity. Much of human behavior (e.g., TV watching) is driven by stimulus cues in the environment, and people struggle with choosing demanding cognitive and physical leisure activities. Occasionally, though, the conscious mind intervenes and overrides the default system resulting in engagement in activities that increase neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. The task is difficult, however, as the nonconscious mind operates best in the freedom of leisure where the triggering of explanations and excuses for not doing demanding activities is most likely. The struggle is further compounded when people typically use up their finite self-control resources at work, thus leaving little or nothing of these for resisting participation in less demanding and potentially less beneficial leisure. Ironically, freedom in leisure, which is supposed to be a good thing, poses two major problems: (1) the nonconscious effect, when it facilitates the acceptance of excuses for not doing demanding activities, and (2) the conscious effect, when “should-do” leisure activities (e.g., exercise) stir up reactance and conscious resistance to a possible loss of freedom. As a result, freedom in leisure undermines, consciously and nonconsciously, one's initiative for self-development activities when it, in theory, would be expected to promote involvement in various kinds of self- and health-enhancing activities.

The pursuit of a comprehensive understanding of human consciousness, which includes the subjective experience of perception, is a long-standing endeavor. A multitude of disciplines have sought to elucidate and define consciousness, with a particular emphasis on its etiology. What is the cause of consciousness? One particularly eye-opening idea is that humans attempt to identify the source of consciousness by leveraging their own consciousness, as if something is attempting to elucidate itself. Strikingly, the results of brain-imaging experiments indicate that the brain processes a considerable amount of information outside conscious awareness of the organism in question. Perhaps, the vast majority of decision making, thinking, and planning processes originate from non-conscious brain processes. Nevertheless, consciousness is a fascinating phenomenon, and its intrinsic nature is both intriguing and challenging to ascertain. In the end, it is not necessarily given that consciousness, in particular the phenomenon of perception as the subjective experience it is, is a tangible function or process in the first place. This is why it must be acknowledged that this theoretical paper is not in a position to offer a definitive solution. However, it does present an interesting new concept that may at least assist future research and potential investigations in achieving a greater degree of elucidation. The concept is founded upon a physical (mathematical) phenomenon known as stochastic resonance. Without delving into the specifics, it is relatively straightforward to grasp one of its implications, which is employed here to introduce a novel direction regarding the potential for non-conscious information within the human brain to become conscious through the introduction of noise. It is noteworthy that this phenomenon can be visualized through a relatively simple approach that is provided in the frame of this paper. It is demonstrated that a completely white image is transformed into an image depicting clearly recognizable content by the introduction of noise. Similarly, information in the human brain that is processed below the threshold of consciousness could become conscious within a neural network by the introduction of noise. Thereby, the noise (neurophysiological energy) could originate from one or more of the well-known activating neural networks, with their nuclei being located in the brainstem and their axons connecting to various cortical regions. Even though stochastic resonance has already been introduced to neuroscience, the innovative nature of this paper is a formal introduction of this concept within the framework of consciousness, including higher-order perception phenomena. As such, it may assist in exploring novel avenues in the search for the origins of consciousness and perception in particular.