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Consciousness without a cortex, but what kind of consciousness is this?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2007

Anton M. L. Coenen
Affiliation:
NICI, Department of Biological Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. [email protected]

Abstract

Merker suggests that the thalamocortical system is not an essential system for consciousness, but, instead, that the midbrain reticular system is responsible for consciousness. Indeed, the latter is a crucial system for consciousness, when consciousness is regarded as the waking state. However, when consciousness is regarded as phenomenal consciousness, for which experience and perception are essential elements, the thalamocortical system seems to be indispensable.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
2007 Cambridge University Press

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