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The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness

How consciousness is generated by the nervous system remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. Investigators from diverse fields have begun to unravel this puzzle by contrasting conscious and unconscious processes. In this way, it has been revealed that the two kinds of processes differ in t...

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Autores principales: Merrick, Christina, Godwin, Christine A., Geisler, Mark W., Morsella, Ezequiel
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3887364/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24454300
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01011
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author Merrick, Christina
Godwin, Christine A.
Geisler, Mark W.
Morsella, Ezequiel
author_facet Merrick, Christina
Godwin, Christine A.
Geisler, Mark W.
Morsella, Ezequiel
author_sort Merrick, Christina
collection PubMed
description How consciousness is generated by the nervous system remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. Investigators from diverse fields have begun to unravel this puzzle by contrasting conscious and unconscious processes. In this way, it has been revealed that the two kinds of processes differ in terms of the underlying neural events and associated cognitive mechanisms. We propose that, for several reasons, the olfactory system provides a unique portal through which to examine this contrast. For this purpose, the olfactory system is beneficial in terms of its (a) neuroanatomical aspects, (b) phenomenological and cognitive/mechanistic properties, and (c) neurodynamic (e.g., brain oscillations) properties. In this review, we discuss how each of these properties and aspects of the olfactory system can illuminate the contrast between conscious and unconscious processing in the brain. We conclude by delineating the most fruitful avenues of research and by entertaining hypotheses that, in order for an olfactory content to be conscious, that content must participate in a network that is large-scale, both in terms of the neural systems involved and the scope of information integration.
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spelling pubmed-38873642014-01-17 The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness Merrick, Christina Godwin, Christine A. Geisler, Mark W. Morsella, Ezequiel Front Psychol Psychology How consciousness is generated by the nervous system remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. Investigators from diverse fields have begun to unravel this puzzle by contrasting conscious and unconscious processes. In this way, it has been revealed that the two kinds of processes differ in terms of the underlying neural events and associated cognitive mechanisms. We propose that, for several reasons, the olfactory system provides a unique portal through which to examine this contrast. For this purpose, the olfactory system is beneficial in terms of its (a) neuroanatomical aspects, (b) phenomenological and cognitive/mechanistic properties, and (c) neurodynamic (e.g., brain oscillations) properties. In this review, we discuss how each of these properties and aspects of the olfactory system can illuminate the contrast between conscious and unconscious processing in the brain. We conclude by delineating the most fruitful avenues of research and by entertaining hypotheses that, in order for an olfactory content to be conscious, that content must participate in a network that is large-scale, both in terms of the neural systems involved and the scope of information integration. Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-01-10 /pmc/articles/PMC3887364/ /pubmed/24454300 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01011 Text en Copyright © 2014 Merrick, Godwin, Geisler and Morsella. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Merrick, Christina
Godwin, Christine A.
Geisler, Mark W.
Morsella, Ezequiel
The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
title The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
title_full The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
title_fullStr The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
title_full_unstemmed The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
title_short The olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
title_sort olfactory system as the gateway to the neural correlates of consciousness
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3887364/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24454300
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01011
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